Chapter 16 Forensic Entomology
Chapter 16 Forensic Entomology
Chapter 16 Forensic Entomology
The premise of this discussion is that insects play an important role in determining the
PMI in death investigations. The reason is that in death investigations, the time since some-
one died can provide important information to the successful completion of the investiga-
tion, and is a factor medical examiners, scene scientists/investigators, prosecutors and
defense attorneys commonly take into consideration. Scene scientists/investigators should
be aware of the two processes taking place after someone dies: the decomposition process
and associated sequential appearance of entomological signs at the scene. Students and
novice scene scientists/investigators need to understand this as well.
Why insects? Why do insects play such an important role in estimating the PMI? The
reason is that their life cycles predictably move from the egg to an adult in a process known
as metamorphosis. This well-studied process can be correlated fairly accurately when
environmental conditions are known, which means that medical examiners and/or foren-
sic entomologists use this metamorphosis timeline to ascertain how long someone had
been dead. Entomological PMI estimates are particularly helpful when the body has com-
pleted the usual post-death medical signals (rigor mortis, liver mortis, etc.) commonly
used by medical examiners to determine the PMI. The list in Figure 16.1 shows the type of
ture of an animal (as a butterfly or a frog) occurring subsequent to birth or hatching [2].
The Entomological
Crime Scene
Decomposing body
Flies/fly infestation
Necrotic insects
Temperature
Footprint/tire tracks
Maggots/maggot trails
Animal distributed bones
Hidden/discarded weapons
Firearms evidence
bullets/cartridges
Disturbed soil as evidence of
additional burials
evidence that might be expected at scenes requiring entomological analysis. Much of this
evidence would be also found in routine homicide or burglary scenes.
It is also important to realize that entomological PMI estimates are just that, estima-
tions. What is really measured is the time it takes from insect colonization to the formation
of the adult insect. Figure 16.2 illustrates the process.
After someone dies, such as in a murder case, insects colonize the body soon after
death. As shown in the slide in Figure 16.2, this is time frame from when the person is
murdered to the time it takes for colonization to begin. Although this length of time should
be included in PMI calculations, it is not because it is unknown. The only information
available to forensic entomologists is the time from colonization, based on the physical
Calculated
Insect
colonization time since
colonization
Actual
postmortem
interval (PMI)
presence of eggs, to the presence of the adult insect. Thus, calculations for PMI utilize the
timeline of the insects life stages to determine the time it took from colonization to the
beginning of the scene investigation. These estimates are based on the entomological infor-
mation gathered at the scene. The slide in Figure 16.3 shows this schematically.
Forensic entomologists require specific types of information to make PMI calculations
(see Figure 16.3). Sometimes, the only people on the scene capable of providing some of
this information are the first ones present, which could be the first responder to the scene
or even someone not associated with the police but instead a passerby. Obtaining this
information is important, though. Usually, the appropriate information should be obtained
by a trained forensic entomologist or someone from the medical examiners office who is
trained to collect the data.
Still, scene scientists/investigators need to learn to recognize the stages of decomposi-
tion and the insects associated with each. By understanding metamorphosis and the insects
of interest, they will have the intellectual tools to know where to look for insects associated
with decomposition and they will be in a better position to protect the appropriate evi-
dence at the scene.
So, to what extent should the scene scientist/investigator know or understand forensic
entomology? The answer is simple. Scene investigators are probably neither forensic ento-
mologists nor medical examiners, and they should never make the calculations involved in
PMI estimations from the entomological data because there are variables that can affect
the PMI calculations. Also, it should not be assumed they will ever know how to identify
specific insects, except in the very broad sense. However, they can understand the funda-
mental approach forensic entomologists take to investigating a scene and thus can protect
entomological evidence from damaging effects stemming from the investigation. And,
with specific training, they can learn to obtain relevant data for subsequent use. Thus, their
role can be a crucial spoke in the wheel of the PMI estimation process.
From the slide in Figure 16.3, it is apparent that most of the data necessary for
PMI estimations are collected at the scene: obtaining the appropriate temperatures,
Temperatures
Ambient Larval length Accumulated
Above body pupal analysis degree hour
Under body
Soil under body
Maggot mass if present Weather data
Dispersal
pattern
460 Crime Scene Forensics
capturing adult insect species, larvae, and pupae. If forensic entomological expertise
is not available, the scene scientist/investigator should immediately recognize the
need to obtain these important items of evidence. This begins with an understanding
of the deathdecomposition sequence and the insects associated with each stage.
The reason why flies and other insects are used to determine the PMI, or more precisely,
the time since colonization, is that their life cycles have been extensively studied and are
fairly accurately predicted. The reason is that a dead body presents insects with a con-
tinually changing food source that supports a succession of organisms ranging from
bacteria, fungi, and vertebrate scavengers. The group of organisms that are of interest to
forensic entomologists is the arthropods of which the main element of interest is the
Figure 16.5 Larvae and soil collected from maggot trail. (Photograph by Robert C. Shaler.)
insects. When insects infest a body, they begin a biological clock that allows for the esti-
mation of the PMI [4,5].
Although life-cycle analysis is well studied, estimations of PMI are just that, estima-
tions. This does not imply that forensic entomology is not a science. It is, but given the
varying environmental conditions at outdoor crime scenes, the calculation of PMI is only
as good as the data collected from the scene and from existing and relevant weather data.
If it is cold, the life cycle will be longer than when it is warm. Forensic entomologists cer-
tainly understand this and try to account for varying conditions, but precise up-to-the
minute determinations are not possible.
Table 16.2 Stages of Decomposition
Stage of Decomposition Description Insect Activity
First Stage -Begins @ moment of death until onset of -First insects are Blow flies (Calliphoridae)
bloating. and flesh flies (Sarcophagidae)
- Characterized by early stages in -Eggs deposited around natural body
decomposition: algor morits and livor mortis (3). openings and open wounds.
Bloated Stage -Putrefaction begins. Gases from anaerobes -Blow flies strongly attracted to remains
cause inflation of abdomen. during this stage,
-Temperature of carcass rises from putrefaction -Attraction reaches a maximum when the
and metabolic activity of Diptera larvae. body reaches its peak inflation.
-Fluids seep from openings -Some predatory Staphylinidea may be
-Soil under body becomes alkaline from larvae present.
under carcass.
-Normal soil fauna under body leaves.
Decay Stage -Begins when skin breaks (sometimes classified -Diptera larvae prevalent in large feeding
as wet decomposition4) masses.
-Gases escape. -Coleoptera arrive
-Remains deflate. -Blow fly and flesh fly larvae completed
development and have departed
-Necrophagous and predatory insects in
later parts of decay stage.
-Diptera larvae will have removed most of
the flesh by end of decay stage.
Post-decay Stage Remains reduced to skin, cartilage and bones. -Diptera no longer predominate group.
(Sometimes classified as dry decomposition4) -Various coleoptera will predominate
throughout this stage.
-Diversity of this taxa will predominate
-Increase in number of parasites and
predators of beetles.
Skeletal Stage Only bones and hair remain No obvious carrion-frequenting taxa
present.
-Gradual return of normal soil fauna to
area beneath remains.
-No definite end point to this stage
-Changes in soil composition may last for
an extended period depending on local
conditions.
(Sarcophagidae). When these flies smell a dead body, they are drawn to it and begin lay-
ing their eggs, usually in orifices and open wounds. This process can take minutes or more
depending on factors such as concealment, time of the day, presence of drugs in the cadaver/
carcass, etc.
The presence of eggs on a body marks the first visible stage of insect development, and
it begins the progression from egg to adult, a process called metamorphosis or life stages.
For the bottle fly, there are four distinct stages: egglarvaepupaeadult. These are illus-
trated in Figure 16.6. The photograph on the right side of the slide shows the progression of
the development from larvae to pupae to adult.
Adult
Figure 16.7 Fly eggs in body orifices. (Photograph by Robert C.. Shaler)
Learning to recognize the manifestation of a decomposing body, that is, the stages of
decomposition, and to associate those with insects present at that stage requires knowledge
of entomology and training. For example, if flies are in the area and rice-like particles
(eggs) are present in the bodys orificesarrow in Figure 16.7 points to eggsthe following
facts can be determined.
Table 16.4 Equipment and Supplies for Collecting Insects and Larvae
Item Reason
Aerial or sweep net: 1518 in. with 2436 in. For collecting flies around area of dead body
collapsible metal handles
Collection vials: Screw cap-type vials with neoprene Kill jars for collecting maggots
cap inserts (4-dram size) or wide-mouth jar. Jars
filled with 1/2 in. of powdered plaster, paper towel, or
cotton balls to absorb ethyl acetate
Feather-weight (or light-touch) forceps: These are For collecting without damaging delicate and soft fly
commercially available from most biological supply larvae
houses. Using normal forceps is risky because, if too
much force is used, larvae can be killed
Plastic yogurt or bait containers: 1664 oz. in size For collecting and shipping larvae
Aluminum foil To hold live larvae and food source during shipment
(pre-cut potato wrappers work well)
Vermiculite (or dirt from scene) For filling bottom of the larval containers to allow for
migration, and to absorb excess fluids during
shipment
Plastic specimen containers: 48 oz. size Additional collection containers
Paper labels (nonadhesive, heavy bond paper) Nonadhesive: Used to label inside of preserved and live
specimen containers
Adhesive: For labeling outside of containers
Graphite pencil For making labels (preservation fluids will cause ink to
smear)
Small hand trowel or garden spade For sampling soil and digging for migrating larvae or
pupae in outdoor death scenes
Thermometers : Digital Used for taking temperature of area around body and
maggot mass
Photographic equipment (including scales) Need to capture forensically relevant photographs:
establishing, mid-range and close-ups (of insects)
Chemicals: ethyl acetate, ethanol, KAA Used to kill insects
Paper towels For kill jars, cleaning utensils, and drying hands after
disinfecting
Disposable gloves For personal protection
Sifting screens Used to process soil samples for collecting insects and
insect artifacts
Form for death scene investigation For record keeping
Shipping containers: Styrofoam containers with lids are Used to ship collected specimens to appropriate
best because they are insulated. Corrugated experts
cardboard boxes are cheap and commonly used
data and specimens necessary for calculating the PMI. Table 16.4, adapted from Byrd [1],
shows a list of supplies and equipment required for collecting entomological evidence.
Captures detail.
Use scales in each photograph with
mm/inch ruling.
in the absence of a readily available entomologist, Table 16.5 can be used as a guide for collecting
entomological evidence to ensure that nothing is overlooked so that the entomologist can be given
the appropriate information required to determine the PMI.
After collecting the appropriate specimens, they should be taken to the medical examiners
office, which will ensure they are delivered to a forensic entomologist who works with the
medical examiner.
Experimental work has been done that shows that important entomological evidence can survive house
fires. So, it is clear that even intense fires might not destroy forensic evidence. Fire does not prevent
insect colonization or the ability of the entomologist to determine the elapsed time since death. However,
there are caveats, and one is to be expected: Fires will speed colonization rates by between 1 and 4 days,
which could impact calculating PMIs [5,6].
References
1. J. H. Byrd. Forensic entomology: Insects in legal investigations. Available at: http://www.
forensicentomology.com/definition.htm (accessed April 19, 2010).
2. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Metamorphosis. Available at: http://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/metamorphosis (accessed September 15, 2010).
3. M. L. Goff. 1993. Estimation of postmortem interval using arthropod and successional patterns.
Forensic Science Review 5(2):8294.
4. S. C. Voss, S. L. Forbes, and I. R. Dadour. 2008. Decomposition and insect succession on cadavers inside
a vehicle environment. Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology, 4:2232.
5. L. Gomes, W. Godoy, and C. J. Von Zuben, 2006. A review of postfeeding larval dispersal in blowflies:
Implications for forensic entomology. Naturwissenschaften 93:207215.
6. G. S. Anderson, 2005. Effects of arson on forensic entomology evidence. Canadian Society of Forensic
Science Journal, 38(2):4967.