The attraction of virgin female hide beetles (Dermestes maculatus) to cadavers by a combination of decomposition odour and male sex pheromones

Abstract

IntroductionThe hide beetle Dermestes maculatus (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) feeds as an adult and larva on decomposing animal remains and can also be found on human corpses. Therefore, forensic entomological questions with regard to when and how the first receptive females appear on carcasses are important, as the developmental stages of their larvae can be used to calculate the post-mortem interval. To date, we know that freshly emerged males respond to the cadaver odour of post-bloated carcasses (approximately 9 days after death at Tmean = 27°C), being attracted by benzyl butyrate. This component occurs at its highest concentration at this stage of decay. The aim of our study was to determine the principle of attraction of virgin females to the feeding and breeding substrate. For this purpose, we tested the response of these females to headspace samples of piglet cadavers and male sex pheromones [(Z9)-unsaturated fatty acid isopropyl esters] in a Y-olfactometer. Because we expected that such an odour combination is of importance for virgin female attraction, we tested the following two questions:1) Are virgin female hide beetles attracted by a combination of cadaver odour and male sex pheromones?2) During which decomposition stage do the first virgin females respond to cadaver odour when combined with male sex pheromones?ResultsWe found that young virgin females were attracted to the cadaver by a combination of cadaver odour and male sex pheromones. Neither cadaver odour alone nor male sex pheromones alone was significantly more attractive than a solvent control. Our results also gave a weak indication that the first young virgin females respond as early as the post-bloating stage to its associated decomposition odour when combined with male sex pheromones.ConclusionsOur results indicate that freshly emerged males possibly respond to cadaver odour and visit carcasses before virgin females. Being attracted to cadavers when male sex pheromone is perceived as well, virgin females can optimise their reproductive possibilities.

Analysis of volatile organic compounds released from the decay of surrogate human models simulating victims of collapsed buildings by thermal desorption–comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography–time of flight mass spectrometry

“…The knowledge acquired from cadaveric studies is important for use by forensic entomologists [21,22], by law enforcement police forces for training human remains detection (HRD) dogs [15,19,23], by medical experts for revealing the etiology of death and identifying the postmortem interval (PMI) [6], by forensic experts for the location of clandestine graves [24] and by SAR teams for the location of dead bodies in collapsed buildings after natural and man-made disasters [4,6,8,25]. The ultimate goal towards the last two applications is the development of portable cadaveric detection devices [26,27].…”

Too Fresh Is Unattractive! The Attraction of Newly Emerged Nicrophorus vespilloides Females to Odour Bouquets of Large Cadavers at Various Stages of Decomposition

“…In the fresh stage of decomposition, members of Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae arrive at the cadaver [18]. In the bloated stage (inflated abdomen through gaseous by-products of putrefaction [20]), significant maggot masses can be observed [18]. The post-bloating stage (skin rupture and release of trapped putrefactive gases [20]) is dominated initially by large numbers of feeding fly maggots and predatory beetles such as Staphylinidae and Histeridae [18].…”

Oviposition of Dermestes maculatus DeGeer, the hide beetle, as affected by biological and environmental conditions

“…From the results, (Table 2) it is clear that something in the conditioned food source is inhibiting oviposition. Virgin females can be attracted to food sources via the male aggregation pheromone (von Hoermann et al, 2012). However, in our experiment males were also held on the conditioned dog food, and there was considerably less oviposition in the conditioned dog food.…”

“…Females are more likely to oviposit into materials with a high protein content which favors faster development of offspring (Woodcock et al, 2013). Virgin females are most likely attracted to food sources via male aggregation pheromone and food volatiles, where mated females are able to select oviposition sites in the absence of males (von Hoermann et al, 2012;Woodcock et al, 2013).…”

“…Other examples of products which D. maculatus can infest are leathers, bones and rawhides for domestic pet consumption (Fontenot et al, 2015). Although D. maculatus can infest a wide range of products, it is also an important beneficial insect which helps break down carrion (Richards and Goff, 1997;von Hoermann et al, 2012;Woodcock et al, 2013), can aid forensic entomologists in determining time of death (Richardson and Goff, 2001) and is used in for cleaning bones in taxidermy (Russell, 1947). Due to this insect's status both as a pest and as a beneficial insect, it is crucial to document as much information as possible regarding its biological characteristics.…”