Forensic entomology

Abstract

Necrophagous insects are important in the decomposition of cadavers. The close association between insects and corpses and the use of insects in medicocriminal investigations is the subject of forensic entomology. The present paper reviews the historical background of this discipline, important postmortem processes, and discusses the scientific basis underlying attempts to determine the time interval since death. Using medical techniques, such as the measurement of body temperature or analysing livor and rigor mortis, time since death can only be accurately measured for the first two or three days after death. In contrast, by calculating the age of immature insect stages feeding on a corpse and analysing the necrophagous species present, postmortem intervals from the first day to several weeks can be estimated. These entomological methods may be hampered by difficulties associated with species identification, but modern DNA techniques are contributing to the rapid and authoritative identification of necrophagous insects. Other uses of entomological data include the toxicological examination of necrophagous larvae from a corpse to identify and estimate drugs and toxicants ingested by the person when alive and the proof of possible postmortem manipulations. Forensic entomology may even help in investigations dealing with people who are alive but in need of care, by revealing information about cases of neglect.

Cell death proteins as markers of early postmortem interval

“…the analysis of the postmortem interval is based on the different changes that a corpse suffers after death including: physical processes (body cooling and hypostasis); metabolic processes (supravital reactions); autolysis (loss of selective membrane permeability, diffusion); physicochemical processes (rigor mortis); bacterial processes (putrefaction) [1][2][3][4][5]; and the effect of insect activity [6,7]. according to these processes, the methods of estimating the time since death can be quantitative, like the measurement of body cooling or potassium in vitreous humor [1], or qualitative, such as subjective descriptions of gastric contents [8,9].…”

Levantamento Taxonômico e Sazonalidade de Calliphoridae, Muscidae e Fanniidae (Insecta: Diptera) em Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil

“…Tal importância também pode ser observada para a entomologia forense por muitas serem necrófagas e atuarem na decomposição de corpos humanos (amendt et al 2004;Oliveira-COsta 2008).…”

Use of development data to estimate colonization time of the myiasis-causing fly, Chrysomya bezziana (Diptera: Calliphoridae) collected from human wounds

“…Cutaneous myiasis is the most commonly encountered clinical form of the disorder and further can be classified into three groups: (1) furuncular, (2) creeping (migratory), and (3) wound (traumatic) 8 . 12 . Poikilothermic creatures, such as insects, need a certain amount of energy to develop from one point of their life cycle to another.…”