Insect Successional Pattern of a Corpse in Cooler Months of Subtropical Southeastern Texas

Abstract

Here, we characterize the cool weather insect fauna found associated with partially skeletonized and desiccated human remains recovered from an abandoned house in an urban area of subtropical, coastal Galveston County, Texas, and use the information to conclude an approximate postmortem interval of 7-10 months. The predominant factors that allow for a confident assessment of the postmortem interval include climatological data, entomological data, and anthropological data. The documented insect fauna represents a unique assemblage present in a particular environment (an urban abandoned house in coastal Texas) at a particular time of year (winter) and includes expected forensically significant insects such as calliphorid flies, muscid flies, and dermestid beetles but also includes less commonly encountered insects such as an unusually dense population of live case-making clothes moths.

Beetles and flies collected on pig carrion in an experimental setting in Thuringia and their forensic implications

“…Studies of insect succession on carrion have been conducted throughout the world (e.g. Anderson & VanLaerhoven, 1996; Carvalho et al , 2000; Arnaldos et al , 2001; Archer & Elgar, 2003; Watson & Carlton, 2003, 2005; Tabor et al , 2005; Battan Horenstein et al , 2007; Martinez et al , 2007; Chin et al , 2008; Eberhardt & Elliot, 2008; Sharanowski et al , 2008; de Souza et al , 2008; Wang et al , 2008; Bucheli et al , 2009; Özdemir & Sert, 2009). However, to date, experiments using larger mammal carcasses have been performed at only two localities in Central Europe, both outside Germany, in Lower Austria (Grassberger & Frank, 2004) and in western Poland (Matuszewski et al , 2008, 2010a, 2010b).…”

Occurrence of oriental flies associated with indoor and outdoor human remains in the tropical climate of north Malaysia

“…In Malaysia, the first report of P. casei on a corpse was reported in 2008 (Nazni et al 2008). Piophila casei , cheese skippers, are late colonizers, associated with drier stages of decomposition, and are commonly found in both urban and rural environments (Bucheli et al 2009, Lord 1990, Sukontason et al 2007).…”

Necrophagous Caterpillars Provide Human mtDNA Evidence*

“…Head hair that had sloughed off during decomposition was found adhered to the clothing. Based on the clothing, condition of the body, entomological evidence, and witness statements, postmortem interval was determined to be approximately nine to 10 months (6). An unusually dense population of actively feeding larvae of the casemaking clothes moth T. pellionella (approximately 50 individuals) and living pupae of the webbing clothes moth T. bisselliella (two individuals) (Lepidoptera; Tineidae), composing nearly half of the total nonfly diversity, was reported from the hair of the decedent (6).…”

“…Based on the clothing, condition of the body, entomological evidence, and witness statements, postmortem interval was determined to be approximately nine to 10 months (6). An unusually dense population of actively feeding larvae of the casemaking clothes moth T. pellionella (approximately 50 individuals) and living pupae of the webbing clothes moth T. bisselliella (two individuals) (Lepidoptera; Tineidae), composing nearly half of the total nonfly diversity, was reported from the hair of the decedent (6). Here, we detail the necrophagous behavior of T. bisselliella and T. pellionella and document the incorporation of human hair into their larval shelters of T. pellionella , which provided enough starting template to amplify and sequence the HVI and HVII sections of the control region (mtDNA) of the decedent.…”