CrimeScene:#3

EvidenceBeingExamined:FlyLarvae
ForensicScienceUsed:ForensicEntomology
Name:EmilyVierling

Hundredsofarthropodspeciesareattractedbycorpses.TheprimaryspeciesareDiptera,
Coleoptera(beetles)andtheirlarvae,aswellasmites,isopods,opiliones,andnematodes.These
animalsfeed,live,orbreedinandonthecorpse,dependingontheirbiologicalpreferencesandonthe
stateofdecomposition.Sincearthropodsarebyfarthelargestandmostimportantbiologicalgroupon
Earth(theyoutnumberevenplants),theycanbefoundinawidevarietyoflocationsincludingcrime
scenes.Thisopensawiderangeofapplicationsforforensicentomology,theinvestigationofinsects
andotherarthropodsrecoveredfromcrimescenesandcorpses.
ThefirstdocumentedforensicentomologycasewasreportedbytheChineselawyerand
deathinvestigatorSungTzuinthe13thcenturyinthemedicolegaltextbook,Hsiyanchilu.In
hisbook,Hedescribesthecaseofastabbingneararicefield.Thedayafterthemurder,theinvestigator
toldallworkerstolaydowntheirworkingtoolsonthefloor.Dipterawereattractedtoasinglesickle
becausetheycouldpickupinvisibletracesofblood.Soconfronted,thetool'sownerconfessedtohis
crimeand``knockedhisheadonthefloor''.Inthisspecificcase,forensicentomologywasusedas
associativeevidencetohelpinvestigatorscatchthekiller.However,nowitisusedmoretodetermine
timeofdeath.ApartfromtheearliercaseItalkedaboutbefore,therealfirstobservationsoninsectsand
otherarthropodsasforensicindicatorsweredocumentedinGermanyandFranceinthelate1880sby
ReinhardandHofmann.AftertheFrenchpublicationofMgnin'spopularbookontheappliedaspects
offorensicentomology,theconceptquicklyspreadtoCanadaandtheUS.Manyearliercasereports
dealtwithallegedchildhomicides.AftertheWorldWars,fewforensicentomologycasesenteredthe
scientificliterature.Fromthe1960stothe1980s,LeclercqandNuortevawereprimarilyresponsiblefor
maintainingthemethodinCentralEurope,withafocusoncasework.Sincethen,basicresearchinthe
US,RussiaandCanadahasopenedthewaytotheroutineuseofentomologyinforensicinvestigations.

Forensicentomologyisthestudyoftheinsectsassociatedwithahumancorpseinaneffortto
determineelapsedtimesincedeath.Insectevidencemayalsoshowthatthebodyhasbeenmovedtoa
secondsiteafterdeath,orthatthebodyhasbeendisturbedatsometime,eitherbyanimals,orbythe
killerreturningtothesceneofthecrime.Someinsectsscavengedeadfleshorlayeggsindeadbodies.
Forensicentomologistsstudythekindsofinsectsfoundinandnearbodies,andbyknowingthelife
cyclesofthedifferentinsects,andthestagesofdecompositionwhendifferentinsectspopulatedead
bodies,candeterminethetimesincedeath(postmorteminterval)orthelengthoftimethebodyhas
beenthere,ifithasbeenmovedsincedeath.Thefirstinsectsonbodiesareusuallyflies,including
houseflies.Differentfliesarriveatdifferentstagessomeareattractedtonewlydeadbodies,others
willonlyarrivethreetosixmonthsafterdeath.Beetlestendtoarriveasthebodydecomposes.The
successionoffliesandthelengthoftheirlifecycleswilldependonthelocation,timeofyear,weather,
andwhetherthebodywasonthesurfaceorburied.Somebeesandwaspspredatefliesandtheirlarvae,
andcancausedifficultiesbyremovingtheinsectsusedbyforensicentomologiststostudythecrime
scene.Allthesecharacteristicsthatarthropodswithholdhelpinvestigators,inamurdercaseoranycase
involvingdeath,todeterminethetimeofdeathandpossiblygainprobativeinformation.

Therearetwomainwaysofusinginsectstodetermineelapsedtimesincedeath:

Usingsuccessionalwavesofinsects
Usingmaggotageanddevelopment

Thefirstmethodlistedisbasedonthefactthatahumanbodysupportsaveryrapidly
changingecosystemgoingfromthefreshstatetodrybonesinamatterofweeksormonthsdepending
ongeographicregion.Duringthisdecomposition,theremainsgothroughrapidphysical,biologicaland
chemicalchanges,anddifferentstagesofthedecompositionaretemptingtodifferentspeciesof
insects/arthropods.Someinsectsusuallyarrivewithin24hoursofdeath.Usuallythefirstgroupof
insectstoarrivearetheCalliphoridaeandtheSarcophagidae.Otherspeciesarenotattractedtothe
corpseuntillaterlikethePiophilidae.Someinsectsthatarenottemptedbythebodyitself,are
attractedbythefeastofinsectsatthesceneofthecrime.Manyofthespeciesoftheseinsectsare
involvedateachdecompositionstageandeachgroupofinsectsoverlapstheonesadjacenttoit.This
allows,withanunderstandingoftheregionalinsectfaunaandtimesofcarrioncolonization,thedata
takenontheinsectspresentatthescenecanbeanalyzedtodetermineawindowoftimeinwhichthe
deathtookplace.Thismethodisusedwhenthedecedenthasbeendeadfromafewweeksuptoayear.
Aknowledgeofinsectsuccession,togetherwithregional,seasonal,habitatandmeteorological
variations,isrequiredforthismethodtobesuccessful.
Thesecondmethod,thatofusingmaggotageanddevelopmentcangiveadateofdeath
accuratetoadayorless,orarangeofdays,andisusedinthefirstfewweeksafterdeath.Theinsects
usedinthismethodarethosethatarrivefirstonthecorpse,thatis,theCalliphoridaeorblowflies.
Thesefliesareattractedtoacorpseusuallywithin24hoursafterthedeath.Theylaytheireggsonthe
corpse,usuallyinawound.Theirdevelopmentfollowsapredictablecycle.Theinsectslaytheireggs
inbatchesontopofthecorpse.Theegghasmanydevelopmentalstages.Thistimeperiodisbasedon
theavailabilityoffoodandthetemperatureconditionstheeggsarein.Insectsare'coldblooded',so
theirdevelopmentisdependentontemperature.Theirmetabolicrateisincreasedwithincreased
temperature,whichresultsinafasterrateofdevelopment,sothatthedurationofdevelopment
decreasesinalinearmannerwithincreasedtemperature.Ananalysisoftheoldeststageofinsectonthe
corpseandthetemperatureoftheregioninwhichthebodywasdiscoveredleadstoadayorrangeof
daysinwhichthefirstinsectsovipositedorlaideggsonthecorpse.This,inturn,leadstoaday,or
rangeofdays,duringwhichdeathoccurred.Thismethodcanbeuseduntilthefirstadultsbeginto
emerge,afterwhichitisnotpossibletodeterminewhichgenerationispresent.Therefore,afterasingle
blowflygenerationhasbeencompleted,thetimeofdeathisdeterminedusingthefirstmethod,thatof
insectsuccession.

Advancementsinthefieldofforensicentomologywerenotreallymadeuntilthe20thcentury.
Duringthe20thcentury,therewasprogressininsecttaxonomyandinsectecology.AftertheSecond
WorldWar,itbecamepossibleforforensicentomologiststodeterminechildabusebystudyingthe
postmortemartifactsthatwereproducedbyantsandfreshwaterarthropods.Amidstthe1960sand

1980s,furtherdevelopmentinthesubjectwasmadebytheBelgianentomologistMarcelLeclercqand
theFinnishresearcherPekkaNuorteva.MuchprogresswasmadeinthefollowingyearsintheUS,
Russia,andCanada.Allthesecontributionshashelpedforensicentomologybecomewhatitistoday,
anindispensablepartofforensicsandcriminology.

TofindthetimeofdeathforCrimeScene3svictim,wetookflylarvaethatwerefoundat
thesceneofthecrimeandtheaveragetemperatureforthepastdaysthatcouldvehelpedtheir
development.Mygroupfirstmeasuredtheflylarvaetofindoutifitwas1stinstar,2ndinstar,or3rd
instar.Thishelpedustofindatwhichstatetheflylarvaeisdeveloped.Wethentooktheaverageofour
temperatures.Ourflylarvaethatwasfoundatthesceneofthecrimewasatits2ndinstarandour
averagetemperaturewasapproximately22degreescelsius.Then,mygroupandIcomparedthelarvae
developmentandaveragetemperaturestoachart.Wethencrisscrossedthepathsofthetwotofindthe
approximatetimethebodyhadbeendeadbeforethefigurewasdiscovered.Wefoundtheapproximate
timetobe42hours.Sincethebodywasfoundatapproximately8:25amonMonday,September22nd,
thisputthetimeofdeathtooccuratapproximately2:25pmonSaturday,September20th.

Sources:

"HowInsectsStartedSolvingCrimes."About.N.p.,n.d.Web.05Oct.2014.

"ForensicEntomology."ForensicEntomology.N.p.,n.d.Web.05Oct.2014.

"ForensicEntomology."Wikipedia.WikimediaFoundation,10May2014.Web.05Oct.2014.

"Entomology."MuseumofArchaeologyandEthnology.N.p.,n.d.Web.05Oct.2014.