Forensic

Entomology

TM5518
Medical Entomology
Deon Canyon
What is it?
„ Interaction between arthropod science and
judicial system
„ Divided into 3 areas most litigated
„ Urban Entomology
„ Stored Products Entomology
„ Forensic Medical Entomology
Otherwise known as

medicocriminal entomology
Forensic Entomology Categories
„ Urban Entomology
„ Human environments
„ Problems involving cockroaches and other pests
„ Termites
„ Lawsuits on damage, extermination, real estate value
„ Also includes Rural Entomology - Insect nuisance
related to agricultural endeavors
„ Flies from livestock and insects in cattle feedlots, poultry
houses and pig farms.
„ Patients in hospitals with myiasis
„ Neglect claims
„ Mortuary neglect – maggot infested corpses
Forensic Entomology Categories
„ Stored Products Entomology
„ Disputes over arthropods and arthropod parts
in food and other products
„ Insect debris in breakfast cereal
„ Caterpillars in cans of vegetables

„ Fly maggots in sandwiches from fast-food

restaurants
„ “planted” with intent to defraud…
Forensic Entomology Categories
„ Medicocriminal Entomology
„ Concerns the use of arthropod evidence in
solving crimes – most often crimes of
violence
„ Impartial biological science
„ Human or wildlife death
„ The grisly decay process
„ Detective work necessary to bring criminals to
trial
„ Adversarial justice system
„ Various inconsistencies
„ Courtroom drama
Medicocriminal Entomology
„ May involve:
„ Deliberate homicide or assault using insects
„ Cases of unexplained death
„ E.g. anaphylaxis from bee stings
„ Causation of traffic accidents
„ E.g. wasp in a vehicle
„ But more commonly:
„ Estimation of time of death
„ “Postmortem interval” PMI
„ And less often – site where death occurred.
e.g. unexplained death
„ Poison
„ Can be traced in blood, urine, stomach
contents, hair and nails.
„ One other important source is maggots
occurring on a corpse.
„ When it is impossible to sample stomach
contents, urine and blood from the dead body,
it will still be possible to sample from
maggots, empty puparia or larval skin cast.
Unexplained death
„ Triazolam
The following list of
„ Oxazepam
chemicals has been
„ Alimemazine
traced in maggots:
„ Chloripriamine
„ Phenobarbitol
„ This can cause „ Malathion
problems with
inhibition or „ Mercury
enhancement of life- „ Amitriptyline
stage duration. „ Nortriptyline
„ Cocaine
„ Phenycyclidine
„ Heroin
Unexplained Splats
– a curiosity
„ Involvement of force
„ High velocity
„ Low velocity
„ Pooling
Splats – Position of body
Splats – hmmmm…
Splats – a curiosity
„ High velocity impact?
The Profession
„ American Board of Forensic Entomology
„ Quality assurance mechanism
„ Diplomate
„ Educational and performance criteria
„ PhD in medical entomology
„ Involvement with and contribution to both research and case
work in medicocriminal entomology.
„ Ability to qualify as an expert witness
„ Peer recommendations, committee screening, approval of
Board, Certification Examination
„ Continuing education
„ Membership in the ABFE
The Profession
„ The most current worldwide directory of
forensic entomologists
„ Lists 62 scientists involved in this field
„ 33 were linked solely with the "medicolegal"
subdiscipline
„ 5 listed "medicolegal" entomology as one of their
forensic specialties
„ 28 were affiliated with colleges or universities,
taught entomology or biology and performed
research
History
„ Earliest records
„ 13th century China - Criminalist Sung Tz’u
„ Murder by slashing
„ Village line up and the incriminated scythe

„ Bergeret 1855
„ Discovery of an infant corpse behind a mantle
„ Estimated time of death > 2 years

„ Period of stay of current tenant 1 year

History
„ Earliest records
„ Megnin 1894 – Fauna of Cadavers
„ Focused Western attention on the forensic utility
of entomology
„ Described 8 stages of decomposition and insects
associated with them.
„ An obstacle and an illumination to the science

„ Continuum rather than stages (Schoenly and Reid

1987)
Death becomes you & protection
History
„ Identification of Flies
„ Aldrich (1916)
„ Monograph on the Sarcophagidae made use of
distinctive male genitalia
„ Knipling (1936)
„ Descriptions and keys to many common early
(first instar) maggots of flesh flies.
„ Hall (1948)
„ Monograph - The Blowflies of North America,
made possible the accurate identification of adults
and mature larvae
History
„ Smith (1986)
„ A Manual of Forensic Entomology – first textbook
„ Haskell and Catts (1990)
„ Entomology and Death – a procedural guide
„ Byrd and Castner (2000)
„ Forensic Entomology: The Utility of
Arthropods in Legal Investigations
 After Death Processes
„ Algor mortis
„ Change in temperature after death
„ Most useful indicator of the time of death during first 24 h
„ Livor mortis
„ Settling of blood in the body gives off a bluish- purple color
„ Rigor mortis
„ Stiffening of the muscles after death
„ Autolysis
„ Tissue breakdown by the body's own internal chemicals and enzymes
„ Putrefaction
„ The breakdown of tissues by bacteria. These processes release gases
that are the chief source of the characteristic odour of dead bodies.
„ Mummification
„ Dehydration or desiccation of tissues
 After Death Processes
Stage Description

Initial Decay The cadaver appears fresh externally but is decomposing

internally due to the activities of bacteria, protozoa and
nematodes present in the body before death
Putrefaction The cadaver is swollen by gas produces internally,
accompanied by odour of decaying flesh
Black putrefaction Flesh of creamy consistence with exposed parts black.
Body collapses as gases escapes. Odour of decay very
strong
Butyric Cadaver drying out. Some flesh remains at first, and
fermentation cheesy odour develops. Ventral surface mouldy from
fermentation
Dry decay Cadaver almost dry; slow rate of decay
In temperate regions the following rules of thumb can be
used in estimating death, but must be used with caution:

Temperature of Stiffness of Time since

body body death
Warm Not Stiff Dead 0-3 h

Warm Stiff Dead 3-8 h

Cold Stiff Dead 8-36 h

Cold Not Stiff Dead > 36 h

Decomposition
„ The rate of decomposition is affected by a
number of factors (rough descending importance)
„ Temperature
„ Access by insects
„ Burial, and depth of burial
„ Access by carnivores or rodents
„ Trauma, including wounds and crushing blows
„ Humidity, or dryness
„ Rainfall
„ Body size and weight
„ Prior embalming
„ Clothing
„ The surface the body rests on
Decomposers at a Carcass
„ Vertebrates (macrofauna)
„ Large invertebrates (mesofauna)
„ Smaller invertebrates (microfauna)
„ Fungi (microfauna)
„ Protists (present throughout)
„ Bacteria (present throughout)
 Estimating PMI
Estimated from recognition of the pattern of colonization

Principal 1 Principal 2
„ Application of „ A generally predictable
temperature-dependant succession of arthropods
development of insects often facilitates
(usually flies) decomposition of
organic matter
18C daily development – Chrysomya macellaria
Dot-eggs; square-1st instar; triangle-2nd instar; greydot-34d instar
X-pupae; circle-adult
Principal 1
„ Temperature–Dependent Development
„ Insects are cold blooded.
„ Rate of development is more or less dependent on
ambient temperature
„ For each species there is a threshold temperature below
which no development occurs
„ As temperature rises above this threshold, a certain
amount of time is required for the insect to pass through
each life stage.
„ Because this heat is accumulated as "thermal units," it
can be calibrated and described as "degreedays" or
"degreehours"
Principal 1
„ Problem
„ Most laboratory rearings (upon which the degreehour
data are developed) have been done at constant
temperature.
„ Research is needed to establish correlations between
these data, typical diurnal/nocturnal fluctuations, and
the average daily measurements from weather stations.
„ Retrospective weather records from a nearby weather
recording station are those most often used in
medicocriminal evaluations.
„ Alternatively, measurements can be taken for a period
after discovery of a corpse.
Reduction in crop size in post feeding larvae
Calliphora vicina
Maggot vs. Crop length from feeding peak till pupation
Principal 2
„ Faunal Succession
„ Sequence, pattern, and duration of insect
activity
„ Estimation of time since death requires:
„ Ability to identify each species in all stages of their
life cycles
„ Knowledge of the time occupied by each life stage
under various conditions
„ Great accuracy initially, less accurate with
increasing time
„ Primarily study beetle and flies
Principal 2
„ Faunal Succession
„ Linked to the natural changes which take place
in a body after death
„ After the onset of autolysis and putrefaction,
necrophagous insects appear, depending on time of
year and situation of cadaver
„ Necrophagous insect activity accelerates
putrefaction and the disintegration of the corpse.
„ Gases excreted from the body (methane, ammonia,
carbon dioxide, nitrogen) attract the insects, not
necessarily blood.
Succession of adult arthropods on human
cadavers in Tennessee during spring and summer

Adapted from Rodriguez and Bass 1983

Succession of larval arthropods on human
cadavers in Tennessee during spring and summer

Adapted from Rodriguez and Bass 1983

Succession of arthro-
pods on a guinea pig

Living on/in carrion

Living in litter or soil

surface

Living in soil
Important Fly species
„ Synanthropic flies
„ (strongly associated with human activity)
„ Drosophila, Musca, Muscina, Ophyra,
Stomoxys, and others)
„ Not encountered frequently in investigations
„ Necrophilic species are most useful in
death investigations. (Greenberg 1985)

„ Calliphoridae - Blow Flies

„ Sarcophagidae – Flesh Flies
 „ Necrophagous species: carrion
What insects (dead flesh) eating
are collected „ Most important category for time
since death estimations
for evidence? „ Species include:
„ Flies and maggots (Calliphoridae:
blowflies; also blue and green
bottleflies)
„ Sarcophagous species: flesh eating
(Sarcophagidae: fleshflies)
„ Beetles and beetle larvae (Silphidae:
carrion beetles; Dermestidae: skin
beetles
„ Predatory species
„ Prey on necrophagous insects
„ These may or may not be necrophagous
themselves
Principle 2
„ Faunal succession
„ Insects invade bodies in “waves”
„ 1st arrival: usually blowflies (within minutes)
„ Females lay 200-300 eggs each (clumps of whitish beadlike
dots, usually in orifaces)
„ 1-2 days later, eggs hatch—1st instar maggots
„ Typically there are about 3 instars of maggothood
„ Pupation: after about one to two weeks as a maggot, the outer
chitin of the maggot body hardens, darkens, forms a shell inside
of which the maggot metamorphizes into the beautiful adult fly
(about a 1 week process).
„ All together, blowflies emerge about 2 weeks after eggs are laid
Principle 2
„ Faunal succession
„ Beetles
„ Beetles may appear during massive maggot activity
„ Some beetles eat maggots
„ The height of some beetle activity is after the first generation of
flies have come and gone
„ Necrophagous beetles
„ ecological category for anything feeding on carrion
„ Carrion beetles (Silphidae)
„ Rove beetles (Staphylinidae)
„ Scarab beetles (Scarabaeidae)
„ Leiodid beetles (Leiodidae)
Principle 2
„ Faunal succession
„ The height of some beetle activity is after the
first generation of flies have come and gone.

Trogidae Staphylinidae Histeridae Dermestidae

Case
„ A window next to the victim was open when the
body was found, thus giving the impression that the
murderer had forced entry into the room the night
before. However, the air conditioned room was cool
even though it was very hot outdoors. In reality, the
killer was known to the victim, had a key, and had
returned to "set the stage" by opening the window
just prior to feigning discovery of the corpse. The
insects thus had insufficient time to colonize the
body because the window had been closed prior to
the return of the killer. When confronted by this
biological reality as pointed out by medicocriminal
entomology, the killer confessed.
Stages of working the death scene
„ Assess and note general visual scene characteristics
„ Observe and note insect infestations at the scene
„ Use “Forensic Entomology Data Form”
„ Note insect activity within 3-6 m (flying, resting, crawling)
„ Approximate number and kinds of insects present
„ Note locations of major infestations
„ Note immature stages observed, feeding marks, exit holes, closed
or eclosed pupal cases
„ Insect predators – beetles, ants, wasps
„ Exact position of body and extremities, compass direction, parts in
contact with substrate, exposure to sunlight and shade, etc.
„ Note alterations that could modify decomposition (trauma, burial,
movement, burning, enclosure, dismemberment, etc)
Stages of working the death scene
„ Initiate meteorological data collection
„ Ambient air temperature (30 cm, 1.5 m high from body)
„ Ground surface temperature
„ Upper body surface temperature
„ Under body temperature
„ Maggot mass temperature
„ Soil temperature (immediately after body removal)
Stages of working the death scene
„ Collect adult flies & beetles, eggs, larvae and pupae
„ Use an aerial sweep net body and vegetation
„ Pass overs or swats
„ Pick up ground crawling insects and store
„ Preserve most specimens
„ Rear specimens for identification
„ First and second instar blow fly larvae are generally not

identifiable to species
„ Disturbance
„ If body has not been bagged, do not disturb anything.
„ Only collect insects visible on the surface
„ Do not move/remove clothing
Stages of working the death scene
„ Collect specimens under and close to body (0-1 m)
after body has been removed
„ Litter (leaves, bark, humus, etc)
„ 6 Soil samples (several 10 cm cores) along body
depression and near to body
„ Collection of insects during autopsy
„ Examine body bag
„ Examine clothes
„ Document historical meteorological data
„ Assess ecological characteristics at the recovery site
(soil, plants, water, etc)
Forensic Entomology Practical

„ Read Practical Manual in Study Guide

Field equipment
„ Specimen Collection
„ Aerial nets
„ Collecting jars and vials
„ Forceps
„ Thermometers
„ Killing jar
„ Body bags
„ Labels
„ Pencils, notebooks
„ Hand trowel
„ Camera and measuring devices
„ Disposable gloves, paper towels
Collection procedures
„ Field
„ Capture live flies using net
„ Immobilize in killing jar
„ Label: day/date/time, location
„ Collect numerous maggots using forceps and
store them in jars
„ Submerge a few maggots in boiling water for a
few seconds, remove, store in a jar filled with
alcohol
„ Prevents decomposition
„ Prevents discoloration
Collection procedures
„ Field
„ Also collect egg mounds, maggots of other
various sizes (more than one species could be
represented)
„ Look in orifices
„ Nasal openings
„ Corners of eyes

„ Mouth

„ Traumatized areas
Collection procedures
„ Autopsy
„ Gather and maintain samples of live insects
„ Gather and preserve samples of live insects
you’ve terminated
„ Gather any and all information regarding
day/time of discovery, environmental factors,
etc.
Analysis
„ As best you can,
„ Identify species
„ Provide life cycle information correlated to time
since death
„ Assess whether or not a body could have been
moved