Forensic Entomology

Question 1

entomology

Answer 1

the study of insects

Question 2

insect characteristics

Answer 2

• 3 tagmata
• large compound
• 3 pairs of legs on the thorax
• 2 pairs of wings on the thorax
• antennae

Question 3

forensic entomology

Answer 3

any intersection between insects and the law

Question 4

subfields for forensic entomology

Answer 4

• stored product
• urban entomology
• medicolegal

Question 5

stored product

Answer 5

insects infesting food stuffs

Question 6

an expert in stored product forensic entomology could answer:

Answer 6

• type of insect
• when/where the infestation likely occurs
• who is at fault

Question 7

urban entomology

Answer 7

insects that affect people and their property

Question 8

medicolegal

Answer 8

focus on necrophagous insects that typically infest/colonize human remains

Question 9

forensic entomologist can help determine:

Answer 9

• postmortem corpse movement
• victim identification
• aspects of toxicology
• issues of neglect
• ID possible traumas
• estimate time since death

Question 10

earliest arrivers to corpses

Answer 10

• most commonly used in forensic analysis
• flies arrive to lay eggs/larvae, eat, and mate
• adults/larvae eat soft tissue

Question 11

highs of oviposit

Answer 11

eggs use less energy to hold and deposit

Question 12

lows of oviposit

Answer 12

eggs have no method of defense

Question 13

highs of larviposit

Answer 13

• larvae takes less time to develop
• they come out ready to eat

Question 14

lows of larviposit

Answer 14

• less babies
• big energy investment for mom

Question 15

secondary arrivers

Answer 15

• predators
• eat tissue and oviposit

Question 16

late arrivers

Answer 16

progeny eat non-soft tissue (persist longer)

Question 17

insect succession

Answer 17

the change in carrion insects present on a corpse over time

Question 18

forensic use of insect succession

Answer 18

• community composition can be used to estimate a minimum and maximum PMI
• collect taxa from corpse
• compare taxa to different timetables

Question 19

why use pigs as surrogates for human decomposition?

Answer 19

• easier to get than humans
• easier to place
• corpse size similar to humans
• hairless

Question 20

how quickly will blow flies get to a corpse? oviposit?

Answer 20

• corpse: 30 sec to minutes
• oviposit: 1 hr to a few hours

Question 21

what will decay insects arriving?

Answer 21

• weather
• location
• fire
• body movement

Question 22

indication of perimortem trauma

Answer 22

insects have a characteristics pattern of oviposition on a corpse

Question 23

where are eggs laid?

Answer 23

• orifices first
• laid in moist folds
• laid where skin contacts the ground

Question 24

migrating third instar maggots

Answer 24

• after getting enough nutrition to go through metamorphosis a maggot will migrate away from the body
• many times mass exodus

Question 25

where to find migrating third instar maggots

Answer 25

- look in loose soil/ leaf litter - look at the edges of a room or underneath items in contact with the ground