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Forensic entomology is the science and study of Insects and other Arthropods related to Legal investigations. It can be divided in three subfields: urban, stored-product and medicolegal/medicocriminal. Urban forensic entomology typically concerns pest infestations in buildings or gardens that may be the basis of litigation between private parties and service providers such as landlords or exterminators. Such questions may include the appropriateness of certain pesticide treatments. Stored-product forensic entomology is often used in litigation over infestation or contamination of commercially distributed foods by insects. {Link without Title} Medicolegal forensic entomology includes arthropod involvement in events such as murder, suicide, rape, physical abuse and contraband trafficking. {Link without Title} In murder investigations it deals with what Insect s lay Egg s when and where, and in what order they appear in dead bodies. This can be helpful in determining the time or Post Mortem Interval (PMI) and location of the Death in question. There are many types of insects that can be involved in forensic entomology, but the ones listed here are mostly necrophagous (corpse-eating) and related to medicolegal entomology (directly related to the crime and found on the corpse). This is not a full list; there are many variations due to climate, and many other insects that are necrophagous. This is outlined by Mostovski and Mansell {Link without Title} . The order in which the insects feed on the corpse is called the faunal succession {Link without Title} . Insects of forensic importance Flies (Order Diptera ) Flies are often first on the scene. They prefer a moist corpse for the maggots to feed on, as such a corpse is easier for them to chew. The most important families are:
Beetles (Order Coleoptera ) Beetle s are generally found on the corpse when it is more decomposed. In drier conditions, the beetles can be replaced by moth flies ( Psychodidae ).
Mites (Class Acari ) Many mites feed on a corpse. Macrocheles mites are common in the early stages of decomposition, while Tyroglyphidae and Oribatidae mites such as Rostrozetes feed on dry skin in the later stages of decomposition. Nicrophorus beetles often carry on their bodies the mite Poecilochirus which feeds on fly eggs. If they arrive at the corpse before any fly eggs hatch into maggots, the first eggs are eaten and maggot development is delayed. This may lead to incorrect PMI estimate. ''Nicrophorus'' beetles find the Ammonia excretions of blowfly maggots toxic, and the ''Poecilochirus''mites, by keeping the maggot population low, allow ''Nicrophorus'' to occupy the corpse. end Moths (Order Lepidoptera ) Clothes-moths - Family Tineidae - feed on mammalian hair during their larval stages and may forage on any hair that remains. They are amongst the final animals contributing to the decomposition of a corpse. Wasps, ants, and bees (Order Hymenoptera ) The insects in this group, order Hymenoptera , are not necessarily necrophagous. While some feed on the body, some are also predatory, and eat the insects feeding on the body. Bee s and Wasp s have been seen feeding on the body during the early stages. This may cause problems for murder cases in which larval flies are used to estimate the post mortem interval since eggs and larvae on the body may have been consumed prior to the arrival on scene of investigators.
BOOKS ON FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY
OTHER LITERATURE
HISTORY A brief history of forensic entomology is presented by Mark Benecke {Link without Title} SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS ''Please note - these sites may contain strong graphic images and descriptions. ''
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