Maggots, Murder and Mayhem
Forensic Entomology
The name given to any aspect of the study of insects that interact with legal matters

Medicolegal Entomology
•	Cases involving sudden death
•	Traffic accidents with no immediate obvious cause
•	Possible criminal misuse of insects
•	Determination of the time or site of human death
•	Human DNA recovered from maggots feeding on the body

Application of Entomological Evidence

•	Postmortem interval (PMI) or time of death
•	Geographic location of death
•	Sites of trauma on the remains
•	Decedent toxicological levels from larvae

As a result of death, oxygen is no longer circulating and reaching the body tissues, thus allowing bacteria to grow and release enzymes = postmortem decomposition

Insects are the most reliable scientific means of establishing time intervals of death.

Many insects are attracted to decomposing remains but the two most important insect groups to the process of decay are flies and beetles.

•	Flies (mainly blowflies) are the first to colonize the remains, often arriving within minutes of death

•	Beetles colonize remains early or much later when the body has dried out 
Diptera: True Flies
•	Fourth largest order of insects
•	Predominant group of insects associated with the early stages of decomposition
•	Species of major significance:
		-Calliphoridae (blowflies)
		-Muscidae (house flies)
		-Sarcophagidae (flesh flies)

“Three flies consume the corpse of a horse as quickly as a lion did.” 

-Linnaeus, 1767

Just the Facts, Ma’am
•	Flies generally do not fly at night
•	Green bottle flies = warm weather
•	Blue bottle flies = cool weather
•	The development of flies can be affected by the presence of drugs.
•	The forensic entomologist is part of a working team

Insect Collection at the Scene

Insect Collecting at the Scene
•	Aerial net for flying insects / forceps – fingers for crawling insects – away from or over remains
•	Forceps for hand picking exposed larvae

SAVE SAMPLE OF LIVE LARVAE FROM EACH 
MAJOR INFESTATION SITE.
•	Look very closely for pupal cases on outer portions or remains – can be open or unopen
•	Recover soil samples for insect specimens – especially fly puparia

Visual Observations and Notations of the Scene
•	Locations of major insect infestations
•	Note number and kind of flying and crawling insects 
•	Note stages of insects; e.g. larvae, empty puparia, adults, and eggs
•	Note exact position of the body
•	Note insect predation; e.g. ants carrying off larvae
•	Note any unusual trauma, environmental effects ( body in shallow water, deep dark cool ravine)

Collecting Climatological Data
•	Ambient Temperature
•	Ground Temperature
•	Body Surface Temperature
•	Soil Temperature
•	Maggot Mass Temperature
•	Body-Soil Interface Temperature
SHADE THERMOMETER BULB FROM ALL
SUNLIGHT!

Preserve a representative portion from 
each infestation.  Collect live 
specimens from these same infestation 
sites.

Will either be:
•	Uneclosed (not hatched)
•	Eclosed (hatched)
•	Parasitized (small hole in case)