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Critters on Cadavers
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‡ The application of insects and other
arthropods to legal issues and court
proceedings
‡ Applications
± Estimation of time of death
± Cases involving possible sudden death
± Traffic accidents with no immediately
obvious cause
± Possible criminal use of insects
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‡ Not as large of a biomass as bacteria ± but
run a respectable second!
‡ Unifying Characteristic ± hard exoskeleton
‡ Class Insecta includes bees and wasps
(Order Hymenoptera,) flies (O. Diptera,)
butterflies (O. Lepidoptera,) dragonflies (O.
Odanata,) beetles (O. Coleoptera,) etc.
‡ ³True Bugs´ are Order Hemiptora. No
hemiptorans have any consequence for
forensic science ± so erase ³bugs´ from your
vocabulary!
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‡ Urban ± Relates insects to human
structures and environments
‡ Stored Products ± Insect infestations
of stored food and beverages
‡ Mediocriminal ± The only division that
has a criminal aspect. Relates to
insects feeding on human tissue in the
postmortem period.
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‡ Fact ± insects feed on humans after
death. Yup ± not good news, but we
are part of the cycle of life!
‡ If insects are found on a corpse, the
life stage of the insect can be used to
determine time of death
± This calculation is known as the
POSTMORTEM INTERVAL (PMI)
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PMI must take into consideration many
environmental variables
‡ Temperature
‡ Time of day death occurred
‡ Time of year death occurred
‡ Whether the corpse is submerged in soil or
water.
  
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‡ As the body decays, odors attract insects to
the dead body. Levels of putricine (decomp.
enzyme,) sulfur and methane compounds
send up an ³open for dinner´ flare.
‡ The flies (order Diptera) are the first to
arrive. Blowflies (F. Calliphoridae) and flesh
flies (F. Sarcophagidae) are flesh feeders
and will be the first in line.
‡ Flies can arrive within minutes or up to a
couple hours after death.
‡ In many cases flies arrive before the
completion of a crime and are a silent
witnesses.
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‡ If no trauma is present on the body, female
blowflies will lay eggs in exposed body
openings (ears, nose, mouth, anus,
genitalia.)
‡ Flesh flies don¶t lay eggs, they deposit
larvae.
‡ The colonization pattern is due to the mouth
parts of adult flies.
± Blowflies and flesh flies have spongy mouth
parts. They lack piercing apparatus that can cut
through unbroken human skin. The body
openings provide a moist, warm environment for
larvae development.
  
Blowfly Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Uniramia
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Calliphoridae
   
‡ Small, 2-3 mm length, elongate, whitish to
yellowish
‡ Found in large clusters in and around body
openings as well as injuries
‡ Clearly visible to naked eye
‡ Colder months may see fewer in numbers
‡ Can be found in more hidden locations such
as under eyelids or in nostrils
‡ Eggs typically hatch within hours but may
take up to 2-3 days depending on conditions
   



‡ One fairly small and featureless larvae
hatches from each egg
‡ The body tapers from anterior to
posterior ± Mouth at the anterior,
spiracles at the posterior
‡ Posterior contains breathing apparatus
called spiracles
± Spiracles, along with body size and
shape provide important info for
identification
   



‡ Large numbers of blowfly
typically hatch at a time and
remain together while they
feed on a corpse
‡ These maggot masses
generally form in the head
region and move down the
torso as they feed.
‡ As they feed the larvae
secrete digestive enzymes
which allows them to
consume nearly all the soft
tissue on the corpse
    
‡ Blowfly larvae go through three instars
(molts)
‡ They are considered fully grown at the
third instar
‡ This can occur in several days or
several weeks depending on species,
environmental conditions and number
of larvae present
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‡ After the 3rd instar
larvae go through a
drastic behavioral
change
± they crawl away from the
corpse and burrow down
into the soil to transform
into the pupal stage and
complete the life cycle
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‡ The pupa form when the outer larval skin
hardens and shrinks
‡ Inside this ³case´ the adult blowfly will form
‡ Once the adult fly emerges, the pupal case
does not decompose. It can remain under a
corpse for hundreds of years
‡ Pupal cases can provide valuable forensic
info to investigators long after a crime has
been committed.
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‡ Entomological evidence collection can
be done in a variety of ways
‡ For our purpose we will:
± Identify the species
± Document larvae length
± Determine the instar
± Determine postmortem interval estimation
‡ Depending on species we will use
extrapolation of instar length or the
accumulated degree day theory
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‡ PMI ± The use of insect life cycles to
estimate the time a corpse has been in
the location where it was found
‡ PMI does not DETERMINE the time of
death
± Time of death is established by the
medical examiner
‡ Forensic entomology can provide value
information for the M.E.
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‡ Time of injury vs. death
‡ Estimation of time of death
‡ Whether or not a corpse has been moved
‡ Instances of insects as weapons
‡ Child and elderly abuse and neglect
‡ Single vehicle car accidents (insect stings
and path vehicles have traveled)
‡ Aircraft crashes (instrument obstruction and
engine and fuel line clogging)
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‡ ³Roach Track´ Confusion

± Roaches are notorious for confusing
blood spatter analysis
± Blood trajectory is often critical to forensic
investigations
± Roaches, silverfish and other household
insects often travel through bloodstained
areas
‡ ³Roach tracks´ frequently confuse forensic
investigators that are untrained in how to
identify them
  

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‡ Flies also track through blood, but ³fly
specks´ are a far greater problem for
investigators
‡ Flies ingest blood and can leave large
undigested droplets behind in previously
uncontaminated areas. These droplets can
enlarge a crime scene unneccessarily.
‡ Fleas also leave behind undigested blood in
their feces (commonly known as ³flea dirt.´)
± Flea dirt in a heavily infested dwelling can falsely
suggest blood ³evidence´
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‡ It is becoming more clear that household
insect infestations need to be included as a
variable in forensic investigations
‡ Proper identification of household pests can
save valuable time and resources for
technicians and investigators
‡ Best for juries to hear about insect
³confusion´ from CSI¶s rather than from
attorneys for the defense!

 


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‡ Shipments of illegal drugs often
contain insect infestations, especially
cannabis and heroine (derived from
poppy plants.)
‡ Analysis of insect ³stowaways´ can
allow investigators to track country of
origin, and in many cases the local
area of cultivation.
‡ PMI used to detect illegal
drugs/poisons in fly larvae (consumed
from corpses)
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‡ Insects are becoming invaluable in the
investigation of crime
‡ Forensic entomology is one of the
fastest growing specialties in forensic
science.
‡ All Crime Scene Investigation Units
MUST be prepared to include insect
collection, identification and analysis in
their investigations.