Collembola of the Grave: A Cold Case History Involving Arthropods 28 Years After Death

Merritt, Richard W.; Snider, Richard J.; Jong, Laetitia De; Benbow, M. Eric; Kimbirauskas, Ryan; Kolar, Rebecca E.

doi:10.1111/j.1556-4029.2007.00568.x

Cited by 23 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(8 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In comparison to blow and ßesh ßy larvae, these two former species are much smaller in size, making it easier for them to maneuver through the interstitial spaces in the soil to reach a carcass (Disney 2008). CofÞn ßies have been documented colonizing remains at depths up to 1.8 m (Merritt et al 2007), so it is not surprising they are capable of colonizing a carcass at 60 cm. Other studies have found cofÞn ßy larvae on carrion buried at 30 cm during the active stage of decay (Payne and King 1968), 2 mo after death (Motter 1898), and a year after death (Mé gnin 1894).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insect Arrival Pattern and Succession on Buried Carrion in Michigan

Pastula

Merritt

2013

jnl. med. entom.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study examined pig carcasses buried at two different depths, 30 and 60 cm, to determine if insects were able to colonize buried carcasses, when they arrive at each depth, and what fauna were present over seven sampling dates to establish an insect succession database on buried carrion in East Lansing, MI. Thirty-eight pigs were buried, 18 at 30 cm and 20 at 60 cm. Four control carcasses were placed on the soil surface. Three replicates at each depth were exhumed after 3, 7, 14, 21, 30, and 60 d, respectively. One pig also was exhumed from 60 cm after 90 d and another after 120 d. Sarcophaga bullata (Parker) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) and Hydrotaea sp. (Diptera: Muscidae) were found colonizing buried carrion 5 d after burial at 30 cm. Insect succession at 30 cm proceeded with ßesh and muscid ßies being the Þrst to colonize, followed by blow ßies. Insects were able to colonize carcasses at 60 cm and Hydrotaea sp. and Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae) were collected 7 d after burial. Insect succession at 60 cm did not proceed similarly, instead muscid and cofÞn ßies were the only larvae collected. Overall these results reveal postburial interval estimates for forensic investigations in mid-Michigan during the summer, depending on climatic and soil conditions. KEY WORDS forensic entomology, buried carrion, insect succession, postburial interval

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insect Arrival Pattern and Succession on Buried Carrion in Michigan

Pastula

Merritt

2013

jnl. med. entom.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Myriads of mites, Thysanura (now order Collembola) and dipteran puparia but no beetles nor dipteran larvae were found on a human corpse interred for 4 years only in a burial case but without coffin in a grave 3 feet deep (Motter 1898). In a more recent case, the corpse of a young female recently exhumed after 28 years yielded thousands of live Collembola together with large numbers of Acari (mites) of the family Glycyphagidae, and fly puparia (Merritt et al 2007). …”

Section: Mites Are Numerous On Carcasesmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Similarly, mites, springtails and puparia of coffin fly, Conicera tibialis, were collected from the embalmed body of a 28 year-old female with a gunshot wound to the head. The corpse was buried at a depth of 1.8 m in an unsealed casket that was placed inside an unsealed cement vault in a cemetery in Michigan, USA (Merritt et al 2007).…”

Section: Buried Carcasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carcases and mites

Braig

Perotti

2009

Exp Appl Acarol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mites are involved in the decomposition of animal carcases and human corpses at every stage. From initial decay at the fresh stage until dry decomposition at the skeletal stage, a huge diversity of Acari, including members of the Mesostigmata, Prostigmata, Astigmata, Endeostigmata, Oribatida and Ixodida, are an integral part of the constantly changing food webs on, in and beneath the carrion. During the desiccation stage in wave 6 of Mégnin's system, mites can become the dominant fauna on the decomposing body. Under conditions unfavourable for the colonisation of insects, such as concealment, low temperature or mummification, mites might become the most important or even the only arthropods on a dead body. Some mite species will be represented by a few specimens, whereas others might build up in numbers to several million individuals. Astigmata are most prominent in numbers and Mesostigmata in diversity. More than 100 mite species and over 60 mite families were collected from animal carcases, and around 75 species and over 20 families from human corpses.

show abstract

“…Although known to colonize a human corpse at a later time of decomposition, phorids may also be present at early stages of decay [7,11,12], especially when blowflies were unable to gain access [6,11]. Unlike blowflies, they are able to move through the smallest openings or meters of soil, colonizing buried or concealed corpses and carcasses [3,4,13,14]. Last but not least, some forensically important phorid species may also occur in cases of myiasis, the infestation of living humans or animals [6,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are usually the first and most abundant colonizers and can therefore be used as indicators of the minimal time elapsed since death. However, several cases have been reported where small flies like the minute to medium sized scuttle flies (Phoridae) were present and even dominated the fauna of the carcass [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Although known to colonize a human corpse at a later time of decomposition, phorids may also be present at early stages of decay [7,11,12], especially when blowflies were unable to gain access [6,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular identification of carrion-breeding scuttle flies (Diptera: Phoridae) using COI barcodes

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Entomological evidence is often used in forensic cases for post-mortem interval (PMI) calculation. The most dominant species present on a corpse are typically blowflies. However, several cases have been reported where access to a corpse has been restricted for blowflies (e.g., on a buried or wrapped cadavers) but species of the family Phoridae were abundant. It has also been reported that some phorid species that exploit human corpses may also feature in cases of myiasis acquired ante-mortem. In all these cases, they may provide decisive evidence. As for blowflies, the precise identification of a phorid species collected from a corpse is necessary when estimating the PMI. Since morphological determination is often hampered due to similar characteristics especially in the larval and pupal stage, we used DNA-based methods to identify six phorid species (Megaselia scalaris, Megaselia giraudii, Megaselia abdita, Megaselia rufipes, Conicera tibialis, and Puliciphora borinquenensis) on the molecular level. We focused on a 658-bp-long region of the cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI), the most common molecular marker in forensic entomology. The amplified fragment is also used in DNA barcode approaches and was found to be suitable for identification of a wide range of insect taxa. The present study demonstrates that this region is also sufficient to distinguish between several species of scuttle flies.

show abstract

Collembola of the Grave: A Cold Case History Involving Arthropods 28 Years After Death

Cited by 23 publications

References 8 publications

Insect Arrival Pattern and Succession on Buried Carrion in Michigan

Insect Arrival Pattern and Succession on Buried Carrion in Michigan

Carcases and mites

Molecular identification of carrion-breeding scuttle flies (Diptera: Phoridae) using COI barcodes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About