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Theuseofinsectsinforensicinvestigations:Anoverviewonthescopeofforensicentomology

JForensicDentSci.2011JulDec3(2):8991.

PMCID:PMC3296382

doi:10.4103/09751475.92154

Theuseofinsectsinforensicinvestigations:Anoverviewonthescopeofforensic
entomology
IsaacJoseph,DeepuGMathew,PradeeshSathyan,andGeethaVargheese
DepartmentofOralandMaxillofacialPathology,SreeMookambikaInstituteofDentalSciences,Kulashekhram,Kanyakumari,TamilNadu,India
Addressforcorrespondence:Dr.T.IsaacJoseph,DepartmentofOralandMaxillofacialPathology,SreeMookambikaInstituteofDentalSciences,
Padanilam,Kulashekhram,Kanyakumari629161,TamilNadu,India.Email:drisaacj@gmail.com
Copyright:JournalofForensicDentalSciences
ThisisanopenaccessarticledistributedunderthetermsoftheCreativeCommonsAttributionNoncommercialShareAlike3.0Unported,whichpermits
unrestricteduse,distribution,andreproductioninanymedium,providedtheoriginalworkisproperlycited.

ThisarticlehasbeencitedbyotherarticlesinPMC.

Abstract

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Forensicentomologyisthestudyofinsects/arthropodsincriminalinvestigation.Rightfromtheearlystagesinsects
areattractedtothedecomposingbodyandmaylayeggsinit.Bystudyingtheinsectpopulationandthedeveloping
larvalstages,forensicscientistscanestimatethepostmortemindex,anychangeinpositionofthecorpseaswellas
thecauseofdeath.Forensicodontologistsarecalleduponmorefrequentlytocollaborateincriminalinvestigations
andhenceshouldbeawareofthepossibilitiesthatforensicentomologyhavetoofferanduseitasanadjuncttothe
conventionalmeansofforensicinvestigation.
Keywords:Insects,larvae,maggots,postmortemindex
Introduction

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Forensicentomologyisthestudyoftheapplicationofinsectsandotherarthropodsincriminalinvestigation.[1]
Insectsorarthropodsarefoundinadecomposingvertebratecorpseorcarrion.[2]Theseinsectcolonizerscanbe
usedtoestimatethetimeofdeathi.e.,timeintervalbetweendeathandcorpsediscovery,alsocalledpostmortem
index(PMI),movementofthecorpse,mannerandcauseofdeathandassociationofsuspectsatthedeathscene.[3]
Thisreviewisaimedatprovidinganoverviewtoforensicodontologistsonthepossibilitiesofusingforensicdata
basedoninsectsandtheirlarvaemorphology,growthhistories,speciesdistributionandtoxiccontentsintheirtissue
incriminalinvestigation.
History

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Thefirstrecordedincidentwhereinsectswereusedinacriminalinvestigationwasin13thcenturyChinaas
describedinSungTzu'sbookcalledThewashingawayofwrongs.Whenafarmerwasfoundmurderedinafield
withasharpweapon,allthesuspectsweretoldtoplacetheirsicklesontheground.Onlyonesickleattractedblow
fliestothetraceamountofbloodhiddentothenakedeyewhichresultedintheconfessionbythemurderer.[1]The
firstapplicationofforensicentomologyinamoderncourthousewasin18thcenturyFrancewhereentomological
datawasadmittedasproofforacquittingthecurrentoccupantsoftheresidencefromwheretheskeletonized
remainsofachildwerefound.Inthe18thcenturyYovanovichandMegnin'sevaluationoftheinsectsuccessionon
corpsesestablishedthescienceofforensicentomology.[2]
Arthropodesandtheirassociationwithpostmortemchangesofthehumanbody

Assoonasdeathoccurs,cellsstartdyingandenzymesstartdigestingthecellsinsideoutinaprocesscalled
autolysis.Thebodystartsdecomposing.Bacteriapresentinthegastrointestinaltractstartdestroyingthesofttissue
producingliquidsandgaseslikehydrogensulphide,carbondioxide,methane,ammonia,sulfurdioxideand
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hydrogen.Thevolatilemoleculescalledapeneumonesescapingfromthedecomposingbodyattractinsects.
Researchersareabletoisolatethevolatilechemicalsreleasedatdifferentstagesofdecompositionofthebody.The
volatilemoleculesreleasedduringeachstagecanmodifytheinsectbehavior.[4]BasedonthestudiesdonebyCrag
etal.,in1950itwasfoundthatputrativesulfurbasedcompoundswereresponsibleforinitiallyattractingthefliesto
thedecomposingcarcassbutegglayingorovipositionofthefliesareinducedbyammoniumrichcompounds
presentonthecarrion.[5]
AccordingtoSmith(1986)fourcategoriesofinsectscanbefoundondecomposingcarrion:i)Necrophagous
speciesfeedingonthecarrionii)Predatorsandparasitesfeedingonthenecrophagousspecies:thisgroupalso
containsschizophagousspecieswhichfeedonthebodyfirstandwhichbecomepredaceousonthelaterstagesiii)
Omnivorousspeciesfeedingonthecarrionandotherarthropodslikeants,waspsandsomebeetlesiv)Other
specieslikespringtailsandspiderswhichusethecorpseasanextensionoftheirenvironment.Thefirsttwogroups
arefoundtobemoreimportantforthepurposeofforensicentomology.Theyaremainlyfromthespeciesofthe
orderDiptera(flies)andColeoptera(beetles).Thesuccessionwavesinwhichthearthropodscolonizethecarrion
dependsonthestateofdecompositionofthecarrion.[2]
InsectsmostlyinvolvedintheforensicinvestigationsaretruefliesorDiptera.Thepredominantspeciesinthisorder
areCalliphoridae(blowflies),Sacrophagidae(fleshflies)andMuscidae(houseflies).Calliphoridae(blowflies),
Sacrophagidae(fleshflies)mayarrivewithinminutesfollowingdeath.Muscidae(houseflies)delaycolonization
untilthebodyreachesbloatstagesofdecomposition.Calliphoridaeadultsarecommonlyshinywithmetallic
coloring,oftenwithblue,green,orblackthoraxesandabdomen.Sarcophagidaearemediumsizedflieswithblack
andgraylongitudinalstripesonthethoraxandcheckeringontheabdomen.TheadultMuscidaeare812mmlong.
Theirthoraxisgray,withfourlongitudinaldarklinesontheback.Thewholebodyiscoveredwithhairlike
projections.Usualareasofovipositionoregglayingarethenaturalbodyopeningsandwounds.Whentheyhatch,
theyproducealarvacalledmaggot.Theyaresmallpegshapedorganismswithapairofmouthhooksonthe
anteriorendforfeeding.Maggotsgrowrapidlypassingthroughthethreestagesorinstars,reachingthefullsize.
Oncethefullsizeisreachedfeedingstopsandtheymigratetodrierareasandtheybeginpupariation(pupa
formation).Atthisstagetheouterskinofthemaggotbecomeshardenedandformsaprotectiveencasement
eventuallyemergingasafly.[6]
AccordingtothestudiesdonebyK.TulliesandM.LGoffonexposedcarrioninatropicalrainforest,itwasfound
thatthedecompositionprocesswasbestdividedintofivestagesonthebasisofphysicalappearanceofcarcasses,
internaltemperaturesandcharacteristicinsectpopulations:
i.Freshstage(Days12):whichbeginsatthemomentofdeathandendswhenthebloatingofthecarcassis
observed.Eventhoughautolysisoccursatthisstagegrossmorphologicalchangesdonotoccuratthispoint.
Theestimationofthetimeofdeathbyentomologicaldataafter24hrsismoreaccuratethanmedical
examiner'sestimationbasedonthesofttissueexamination.Insectswereseenattractedwithinthefirst10min
ofdeathtothecarcassbutnoegglaying(oviposition)wasfoundduringthisstate.Cellularbreakdown
occursduringthisstagewithoutmorphologicalterations.Eventhoughmorphologicalchangesandodorsare
notobvioustohumans,thechemicalsreleasedfromthecellularbreakdownattractsinsectseveninthisearly
stage.[4]
ii.Bloatedstage(Days27):Putrefactionbeginsatthisstage.Gasesproducedbythemetabolicactivitiesof
anaerobicbacteriacauseaninflationoftheabdomenandthecarcassformingaballoonlikeappearance
duringthelaterpart.Arthropodactivitiescombinedwiththeputrefactionprocessescauseinternal
temperaturesofthecarcasstorise.ThegreatestnumbersofadultDipterawereattractedtothecarcasses
duringthisstage.Bythefourthday,firstandearlysecondinstarorlarvalstagesDipterawerepresent.By
thebeginningofDay2,severalpredatorsofDipteralarvaewerealsorecoveredfromthecarcasses.
iii.Decaystage(Days513):Abdominalwallispenetrated,resultinginthedeflationofthecarcassandending
thebloatedstage,theinternaltemperaturerisesto14degreesabovetheambienttemperaturefollowedbya
dropsignifyingtheendofthedecaystage.Decayingodorsarehighduringincreasedtemperaturesanddrop
withafallintemperature.Thereisasteadydecreaseintheweightofthecarcassby10thday.Thereisa
conversionofcarcassbiomasstodipteranlarvalbiomass.Thelarvaesubsequentlydepartfromthecarcassto
pupate.
iv.Postdecaystage(Days1023):ThepostdecaystagebeginswhenmostoftheDipteralarvaeleavethe
carcass,leavingbehindbones,cartilage,hair,smallportionsoftissue,andalargeamountofwet,viscous
materialknownasbyproductsofdecay(BOD).TheBODisthemajorsiteofarthropodactivityduringthis
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stage.
v.Remainsstage(Days1890+):Thisstageischaracterizedbyboneswithlittlecartilageremainingandthe
BODhasdriedup.Thetransitionfrompostdecaytoremainsstageisgradual,withdecliningadultandlarval
Dipterapopulations.[7]
Stepsinestimatingthepostmortemindexwithinsectlarvae

TheinsectlarvaepresentonthedeadbodycanprovideevidencefortheestimationofPMIuptoonemonth.[2]
Correctspeciesidentificationistheinitialstep.Differentspeciesdifferintheirgrowthratesandmaturation.For
estimatingthePMI,ageofthelarvaehastobedetermined.Bymeasuringthelengthordryweightoftheoldest
larvaeandcomparingitwiththereferencedata,ageofthelarvaecanbeestimated.Therateofdevelopmentofthe
larvaeisdependentonthesurroundingambienttemperatures.Eachstageofdevelopmenthasitstemperature
requirementhenceeachspecieshasitsowndefinednumberofaccumulateddegreedaysoraccumulateddegree
hourstocompleteitsdevelopment.Oncethethermalhistoryofthelarvaeisobtained,itcanbecomparedwith
temperaturesatthedeathsceneandPMIcanbeestimated.Thefirstgenerationadultfliescanalsobeusedto
determinetheage.Theycanbeidentifiedbytheshriveledwings,andtinyabdomenwithdullgreycolour.[7]When
insectscolonizingthecarrioninaparticularareaisknown,aninsectcolonizingsuccessionmodelcanalsobeused
toestimatethePMI.[8,9]
Usinginsectdatafordeterminingthesiteofcrime

Therearereporteddifferencesinthespeciesofinsectsinvolvedwiththedecomposingcorpseindifferenthabitats
andenvironments.Acarefulexaminationcanrevealspeciesvariation,asspeciesassociatedwithonetypeofhabitat
presentonacorpseisfoundtobedifferentfromthosewhenthecorpseistransportedafterdeath.
DNAanalysisforspeciesidentification

Identifyingthecorrectspeciesistheimportantinitialstepforestimatingtheageofthelarvae.Morphological
comparisonisusuallyusedforspeciesidentificationwhichrequiresspecialexpertiseandisoftentimeconsuming.
Inordertoovercomethisdifficultyspeciesidentificationcanbedonebypolymerizedchainreactionamplification
suitableregionsofthelarvaegenomesandcomparingitwithreferencedata.[10]
Entomotoxicology

Thelarvaeoftheflieswhichfeedonthecarrioncanaccumulatedrugsingestedbythedeceasedperson.Bodies
whichareinadvancedstagesofdecompositionorwhichareskeletonizedaredifficulttoexaminefortoxicological
substances.Intheseinstances,thelarvaefeedingonthisbodycanbemaceratedandanalyzedwithtechniqueslike
thinlayerchromatography,gaschromatographyand/ormassspectrometry.Toxinscaninfluencethestagesof
developmentofthelarvae.Cocaineandheroininthecarcasscanacceleratethelarvaldevelopment.Poisonslike
malthioneinthecarrioncandelaytheinsectcolonization.[10]
Conclusion

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Forensicentomologyisanemergingfieldinforensicsciences,wheretheinsectsfeedingoncorpsesarestudied.It
hasbecomeanimportanttoolincriminalinvestigations.Inthepresentscenario,theroleofforensicodontologistsis
notconfinedtohardtissueexaminationalone.Increasedinstancesofforensicodontologistsbeinginvolvedin
criminalinvestigations,aspartoftheforensicteam,havenecessitatedtheneedforanincreaseinawarenessof
emergingscienceslikeforensicentomologyanditsapplicationsinforensics.
Footnotes

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SourceofSupport:Nil
ConflictofInterest:Nonedeclared

References

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Theuseofinsectsinforensicinvestigations:Anoverviewonthescopeofforensicentomology

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ArticlesfromJournalofForensicDentalSciencesareprovidedherecourtesyofMedknowPublications

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