The Influence of Clothing and Wrapping on Carcass Decomposition and Arthropod Succession: A Winter Study in Central South Africa

Kelly, Janine A.; Linde, T. C. van der; Anderson, Gail S.

doi:10.1080/00085030.2008.10757171

Cited by 40 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Although there has not been a great deal of research on insect succession on carrion from South Africa, it has been noted that species, time of arrival and tenure on the remains is, as expected, quite different from published reports from other areas of the world (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

The Influence of Wounds, Severe Trauma, and Clothing, on Carcass Decomposition and Arthropod Succession in South Africa

Kelly

Linde

Anderson³

2011

Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal

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This study investigated the influence of different types of physical wounds as well as clothing on carcass decomposition and arthropod succession during all seasons over one year in South Africa. The trials for each season included six pigs, Sus scrofa, carcasses: two carcasses with wounds, one carcass was clothed the other was not; two carcasses with stab wounds, one carcass was clothed and the other was not; two carcasses with severe trauma wounds, one carcass was clothed and the other was not. The decomposition process and arthropod succession were not influenced by the absence or presence of wounds. Adult female Diptera did not select the wounds as oviposition sites. The presence of clothing caused a slight change in decomposition process only during summer and winter trials. The dominant Diptera in autumn and summer were Chrysomya marginalis and Chrysomya albiceps. In spring, it was Chrysomya chloropyga and C. albiceps and in winter it was Sarcophaga spp., C. chloropyga, Calliphora vicina, and Lucilia spp. During the warmer seasons, maggot predation by C. albiceps on C. marginalis was observed. In all seasons the Coleoptera were dominated by Dermestes maculatus and Necrobia rufipes, however, in summer, Thanatophilus micans and Histeridae spp. were also recorded. RésuméCette étude a examiné l'influence des différents types de blessures physiques ainsi que des vêtements sur la décomposition des carcasses et de la succession d'arthropodes pendant toutes les saisons sur un an en Afrique du Sud. Les essais pour chaque saison ont été réalisés avec les carcasses de six cochons Sus scrofa,: deux carcasses avec des blessures, l'une habillée et l'autre pas, deux carcasses avec blessures par arme blanche, l'une habillée et l'autre pas, et deux carcasses avec de graves traumatismes, l'une habillée et l'autre pas. Le processus de décomposition et la succession des arthropodes ne sont pas influencés par l'absence ou la présence de blessures. La femelle adulte Diptère n'a pas choisi les blessures comme sites de ponte. La présence de l'habillement n'a provoqué qu'un léger changement dans le processus de décom-position et ce, uniquement durant les essais d'été et d'hiver. Les diptères dominantes en automne et en été ont été la Chrysomya marginalis et la Chrysomya albiceps. Au printemps, elles ont été les Chrysomya chloropyga et la C. albiceps tandis qu'en hiver, elles étaient plutôt les Sarcophaga spp., C. chloropyga, Calliphora vicina et Lucilia spp. Pendant les saisons chaudes, la prédation par la mouche C. albiceps sur la C. marginalis a été observée. En toutes saisons, les coléoptères dominantes ont été le Dermestes maculatus et la Necrobia rufipes. En été cependant, le Thanatophilus micans et les Histeridae spp. ont également été enregistrées.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

The Influence of Wounds, Severe Trauma, and Clothing, on Carcass Decomposition and Arthropod Succession in South Africa

Kelly

Linde

Anderson³

2011

Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal

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“…We made the observation that flies do hide under the clothing of dead piglets under rainy conditions. Clothing may also restrict the loss of heat during unfavorable climatic conditions [3]. In this particular case, it was warm and also dry enough for flies to oviposit until the evening of September 2 before the rain set in.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most common application is calculating when insects oviposited on a dead person to give an estimation of the postmortem interval [1]. Since the infestation of a dead body may be delayed by certain circumstances such as indoor locations [2] or wrapping [3], it is more accurate to talk about the colonization time. Insects, being restricted to a certain area, can give further hints to the investigators such as if a body has been moved to a different location after death; also, body parts of insects can link a suspect to a crime scene [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maggots reveal a case of antemortal insect infestation

2011

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“…Our four most commonly caught blow fly species are all significant for forensic investigations, for example L. sericata and L. illustris (20,21), P. regina (22), and C. vicina 185 1 3 0 0 0 0 6 193 30.5 16 2 10 0 24 14 0 17 611 26 15 3 9 1 62 29 0 81 550 28 15 4 3 0 49 44 2 11 743 32 12 5 2 0 32 23 0 11 1012 25 16 6 0 0 5 1 0 2 235 29 14 total 27 1 172 111 2 (23). Our proportions differ somewhat from previous reports: Hall et al (11) found that 74% of the blow flies caught on black sticky traps set with liver baits were L. sericata, followed by 12.5% L. illustris 12.4% P. regina, and 0.03% C. vicina, compared to our 39%, 25%, 29%, and 6% for the same species, respectively ( Table 1).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

SAMPLING ADULT BLOW FLIES (Diptera: Calliphoridae) AT PIG CARCASSES WITH STICKY TRAPS: EFFECTS OF TRAP COLOUR, HEIGHT, AND INCLINATION

Bilaniuk

Beresford

2010

Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal

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Blow fly species (Calliphoridae) are commonly used in forensic investigations. Adults are often sampled at crime scenes and during species surveys using sticky traps. Trap catches are species specific and can vary due to trap design. We tested sticky traps set near a fresh pig carcass to identify catch differences of blow fly species based on trap colour (black, white, yellow, green, blue, and red), trap height (31, 61, 91 cm), and trap angle (horizontal, 45°, vertical). Phormia regina were most abundant on white traps placed low and slanted. Lucilia sericata catches were largely on yellow traps, but unaffected by trap angle or height. Calliphora vicina and Lucilia illustris catches were similar across all traps, although Calliphora vicina tended to be caught more often on blue vertical traps. In general, vertical or slanted traps at low and middle height caught the most forensically relevant species. From these results, two types of sticky traps should be used at crime scenes or for species surveys: white, slanted traps set at 31 to 51 cm high targeting Lucilia species and P. regina; and vertical blue or black traps 60 cm high to target Calliphora species, such as C. vicina. RÉSUMÉLes Diptères, ou mouche à viande (Calliphora), sont souvent utilisés durant les investigations médico-légales où il est important de dater la mort d'une victime. Les Diptères adultes sont recueillis à la scène d'investigation utilisant de pièges adhésifs. Les pièges adhésifs sont spécifiques aux espèces de Diptère et c'est pour cela que plusieurs types de pièges sont utilisés. Nous avons placé de divers pièges, près d'un cadavre de cochon, pour tester ceux de couleurs (noir, blanc, jaune, vert, bleu, et rouge), diverses hauteurs (31, 61, 90 cm), ainsi que l'angle (horizontal, 45°, vertical). Espèces Phormia regina ont été attrapées le plus souvent sur les pièges de couleur blanc qui étaient placés basses et à un angle de 45°. Lucilia sericata était plus commun sur les pièges jaunes, sans préférence pour l'angle ni pour la hauteur des pièges. Le nombre de Calliphora vicina et Lucilia illustris attrapé était semblable sur tous les pièges, mais il vaut dire que Calliphora vicina avait tendance à être pris sur les pièges bleus verticaux. En général, les pièges verticaux, à un angle de 45°, à une hauteur basse et à une hauteur moyenne ont attrapé les Diptères plus importants aux investigations médico-légales. Nos résultats on conclut que deux types de pièges adhésifs sont grandement suggérés pour l'usage aux scènes d'investigations : ceux qui sont blancs, à un angle de 45°, à une hauteur de 31-51 cm qui favorisent la collection des espèces de Lucilia et Phormia regina; et les pièges bleus ou noirs placés à 60 cm visés aux espèces Calliphora, comme Calliphora vicina.

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The Influence of Clothing and Wrapping on Carcass Decomposition and Arthropod Succession: A Winter Study in Central South Africa

Cited by 40 publications

References 34 publications

The Influence of Wounds, Severe Trauma, and Clothing, on Carcass Decomposition and Arthropod Succession in South Africa

The Influence of Wounds, Severe Trauma, and Clothing, on Carcass Decomposition and Arthropod Succession in South Africa

Maggots reveal a case of antemortal insect infestation

SAMPLING ADULT BLOW FLIES (Diptera: Calliphoridae) AT PIG CARCASSES WITH STICKY TRAPS: EFFECTS OF TRAP COLOUR, HEIGHT, AND INCLINATION

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