Forensic insects attracted to human cadavers in a vehicular environment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Al-Qahtni, Abdulmani H.; Mashaly, Ashraf Mohamed Ali; Alajmi, Reem A.; Alshehri, Adel A.; Al-Musawi, Z M; Al‐Khalifa, Mohammed S.

doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2019.04.011

Cited by 20 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This experiment ran for only 29 days so the primary colonizers of both sets of carcasses were early colonizers, almost entirely comprised of Calliphoridae, although a very few Piophilidae did colonize. Piophilidae are usually later colonizers, although larvae of other later colonizers, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae) and Megaselia scalaris Loew (Diptera: Phoridae) have also been reported from a body inside a vehicle ten days after death in Saudi Arabia, with the usually expected Calliphoridae being absent [16]. This again highlights the differences that may be seen between insects colonizing exposed carcasses in comparison with those in more confined areas.…”

Section: Later Colonizersmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Although natural [16] suicidal [17,18] accidental [19] and homicidal deaths [20] may occur inside vehicles, a car, and particularly a car trunk, is also a popular dumping site for a murdered body and usually involves placing the body in the trunk, then driving the vehicle into a rural area for dumping (Personal observation, GSA). The vehicle effectively provides a method of moving the body as well as concealment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Impact of confinement in vehicle trunks on decomposition and entomological colonization of carcasses

Malainey

Anderson

2020

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In order to investigate the impact of confinement in a car trunk on decomposition and insect colonization of carcasses, three freshly killed pig (Sus scrofa domesticus Erxleben) carcasses were placed individually in the trunks of older model cars and deployed in a forested area in the southwestern region of British Columbia, Canada, together with three freshly killed carcasses which were exposed in insect-accessible protective cages in the same forest. Decomposition rate and insect colonization of all carcasses were examined twice a week for four weeks. The exposed carcasses were colonized immediately by Calliphora latifrons Hough and Calliphora vomitoria (L.) followed by Lucilia illustris (Meigen), Phormia regina (Meigen) and Protophormia terraenovae (R.-D.) (Diptera: Calliphoridae). There was a delay of three to six days before the confined carcasses were colonized, first by P. regina, followed by Pr. terraenovae. These species represented the vast majority of blow fly species on the confined carcasses. Despite the delay in colonization, decomposition progressed much more rapidly in two of the confined carcasses in comparison with the exposed carcasses due to the greatly increased temperatures inside the vehicles, with the complete skeletonization of two of the confined carcasses ocurring between nine and 13 days after death. One confined carcass was an anomaly, attracting much fewer insects, supporting fewer larval calliphorids and decomposing much more slowly than other carcasses, despite similarly increased temperatures. It was later discovered that the vehicle in which this carcass was confined had a solid metal fire wall between the passenger area and the trunk, which served to reduce insect access and release of odors. These data may be extremely valuable when analyzing cadavers found inside vehicle trunks. Highlights • Confinement of pig carcasses inside car trunks in southwestern British Columbia, Canada delayed blow fly colonization by three to six days • Temperatures inside cars were much higher than ambient temperatures and speeded up decomposition of the confined carcasses

show abstract

Section: Later Colonizersmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of confinement in vehicle trunks on decomposition and entomological colonization of carcasses

Malainey

Anderson

2020

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This blowfly species is also recorded in markets, garbage and slaughterhouses in Saudi Arabia [29]. For public health and veterinary concern, this blowfly is important because of its ability to cause myiasis and its involvement in the first wave of cadaver entomofauna succession, which can be used to determine the mPMI [13,30].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A preliminary investigation of the entomofauna composition of forensically important necrophagous insects in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Al-Dakhil

Alharbi

2020

Journal of Taibah University for Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The key role in forensic entomology is the study of entomofauna composition through species identification, succession, colonization, and developmental rate. In this study, rabbit carcasses were used as a model to identify the forensic insect species in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia. The appearance and succession of these insects can help in the estimation of the minimum postmortem interval (mPMI) and in many other applications in this region. During the decomposition process, the most important forensic insects observed were from the orders Diptera and Coleoptera. Seven species in five families of Diptera and four families of Coleoptera were identified. The most abundant species in the area that colonized the carcasses were Chrysomya albiceps Widemann (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and Dermestes maculatus De Geer, which can be used for mPMI estimations. This study was the first conducted in Al-Madinah Region to provide a qualitative assessment of forensically important necrophagous species in this region.

show abstract

“…In addition, C. albiceps have been recorded on human corpses in Saudi Arabia by Al‐Shareef and Zaki (2017), Al‐Qahtni et al . (2019) and Al‐khalifa et al . (2020), in line with evidence from many other countries (Grassberger et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…2017): in vehicle habitats (Al‐Qahtni et al . 2019) and in both indoor and outdoor habitats (Al‐khalifa et al . 2020; Corrêa et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chrysomya albicepsWiedemann (Diptera: Calliphoridae) colonising poisoned rabbit carcasses

Mashaly

Al‐Khalifa

Al-Qahtni

2020

Entomological Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Chrysomia albiceps Wiedemann (Diptera: Calliphoridae) is one of the first insects to colonise human and animal carrion and thus one of the most important insects in forensic entomology. Since the presence of these blow flies have been reported in most of the provinces in Saudi Arabia, we analyse the succession patterns of C. albiceps on decomposing rabbit carcasses injected with heroin or administered orally with alcoholic beverages. Samples of flies from the carcasses of heroin or alcohol-treated and untreated rabbits were obtained for 15 days post mortem. A total of 1,297 and 1,426 flies were attracted to rabbit carcasses during the heroin and alcohol tests, respectively. The blow flies appeared in different developmental instars (larvae, pupae and adults), and at all stages of decomposition. Administration of higher concentrations of heroin or higher amounts of alcohol were generally associated with an increase in the number of blow flies drawn to rabbit carcasses (P < 0.05). The highest number of blow flies were attracted during the decay stage of decomposition, and the lowest during the fresh stage. In the case of medicolegal investigation, when C. albiceps used as a forensic indicator, it is recommended that the impact of heroin or alcoholic beverages on the succession patterns be considered.

show abstract

Forensic insects attracted to human cadavers in a vehicular environment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Cited by 20 publications

References 26 publications

Impact of confinement in vehicle trunks on decomposition and entomological colonization of carcasses

Impact of confinement in vehicle trunks on decomposition and entomological colonization of carcasses

A preliminary investigation of the entomofauna composition of forensically important necrophagous insects in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Chrysomya albicepsWiedemann (Diptera: Calliphoridae) colonising poisoned rabbit carcasses

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About