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Forensics > Entomology > Flashcards

Entomology Flashcards

1
Q

What is forensic entomology?

A

The use of insects in legal investigations

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2
Q

What are the areas of application of forensic entomology?

A
  • urban entomology
  • stored product entomology
  • wildlife/veterinary entomology
  • medico-criminal entomology
  • criminal law
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3
Q

What is the main application of entomology?

A

Criminal law

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4
Q

Areas of application: urban entomology

A
  • insect damage

- agricultural pests

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5
Q

Areas of application: stored product entomology

A
  • food contamination

- biosecurity issues

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6
Q

Areas of application: wildlife/veterinary entomology

A
  • animal welfare/cruelty
  • wildlife death/poisoning
  • illegal poaching
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7
Q

Areas of application: medico-criminal entomology

A
  • suspicious death
  • death scene investigation
  • entomo-toxicology
  • negligence
  • child abuse
  • drug trafficking
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8
Q

Areas of application: criminal law

A
  • suicide, homicide or unknown cause

- body not always found straight away

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9
Q

What is the key entomological information requires in forensic entomology?

A

Post-mortem interval

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10
Q

What is establishing an accurate PMI important for?

A
  • reconstruction of events
  • links between a suspect and victim
  • credibility of witnesses
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11
Q

How can insects provide an estimate of PMI?

A
  • insects are attracted to remains very soon after death through the detection of chemical odours released by the body
  • human remains offer a new habitat for colonisation by insects
  • the body can offer a food source for offspring, an extension of habitat or hunting ground for other insects
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12
Q

What are the 2 principles of PMI?

A

Principle 1: temperature-dependent development of insects (based on the known relationship between insect development and temperature)
Principle 2: predictable arrival of insects colonising the body

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13
Q

What is ametabolous insect development?

A
  • egg hatches into a smaller immature version of the adult
  • undergoes a series of malts to grow in size
  • little or no difference in appearance between adult and young
  • only major difference is absence of reproductive organs in young
  • generally have no wings
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14
Q

What is an insect that undergoes ametabolous development?

A

Silverfish

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15
Q

What is hemimetabolous development?

A
  • consists of 3 primary stages: egg stage, nymph stage and adult stage
  • nymphs look like adults, but usually don’t have wings and have under developed reproductive structures
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16
Q

What are some examples of insects that undergo hemimetabolous development?

A

Grasshoppers, dragon flies, earwigs

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17
Q

What determines PMI?

A

Age of oldest specimen

18
Q

What is holometabolous development?

A
  • egg is laid by an adult
  • egg hatches into larva or nymphs
  • nymph has a very different habit and shape than adult form
  • no competition of resources between larva and adult
19
Q

What are some examples of insects that undergo holometabolous development?

A

Butterflies, blowflies

20
Q

What are the larvae of blowflies known as?

A

Maggots

21
Q

How many malts does a blowfly under go?

A
  • 3

- can be determined by number of pairs of spiracles

22
Q

What does an entomologist require?

A
  • specimens collected
  • specimens identified
  • lifestage identified (oldest used)
  • development data for that species
  • weather data associated with remains
23
Q

What is ecological succession?

A

Predictable and orderly changes in composition or structure of an ecological community over time

24
Q

What do necrophagous species do?

A
  • attracted to the body as a food source for themselves and offspring and feed directly on the body
  • typically 1st to arrive at body and usd for PMI estimation
  • eg blowflies and beetles
25
Q

What do predators and parasites of necrophagous species do?

A
  • attracted because of food and host opportunities

- eg beetles, wasps and larvae of a few other blowfly species (predate on larvae)

26
Q

What do omnivorous species do?

A

Eat the body and other insects

27
Q

What do adventive species do?

A
  • colonise decomposing body as an extension of their natural habitat
  • can occur due to chance, proximity to body or attraction to body for shelter and concealment purposes
  • can indicate movement of body
  • eg dungbeetles
28
Q

How is early post-mortem calculated?

A
  • age of the oldest insect larvae collected

- adult arrival time interpreted in relations to known patterns of insect succession

29
Q

How is late post mortem calculated?

A
  • composition of the anthropoid community in relation to the expected succession pattern
30
Q

How are eggs collected from the body?

A
  • collected live
  • should be placed in separate containers depending on where found in the body
  • placed in cooler to slow growth
  • 2 groups
  • half preserved
  • half placed on meat food source and reared to adulthood for identification of species
31
Q

How are larvae collected?

A
  • split into 2 samples
  • half preserved by killing them in just off the boil water and then placed in ethanol solution (this prevents shrinkage - measurements of length are important)
  • larvae must be separated as some will kill each other
32
Q

How is temperature history determined?

A
  • weather station placed at crime scene for a week or more
  • records temperature and humidity
  • data is compared to data from a local weather station and a correction factor is identified
  • this allows use of weather station records prior to discovery of the body to be corrected for slight differences and is used to determine insect development
33
Q

How are pupae collected?

A
  • split into 2 groups
  • for preservation pupae are pricked using a sharp pin at both ends of the pupil casing to create holes for fluid perforation directly into the metamorphosing tissue
  • places in 70% alcohol
34
Q

Empty pupae cases can be used to…….

A

Indicate species

35
Q

Why are pupae often hard to find?

A
  • can a range in size from 2-20mm
  • easily confused with bark or rocks
  • blowflies actively burrow before forming pupae
  • blowflies can travel several meters from body before forming a pupae

Therefore soil samples are taken

36
Q

What are the stages of decay?

A
  • fresh
  • bloat
  • wet decay
  • dry decay
  • skeletal
37
Q

Which animals are attracted to the body at which stages of decay?

A
  • fresh: primary colonising fly species (lay eggs around openings)
  • bloat: Sulfur compounds attract flies, beetles
  • wet decay: secondary adult colonising fly species, predatory beetles, parasitic wasps
  • dry decay: flies no longer predominant insect, tertiary colonising species arrive, beetles predominate (and predators with larvae)
  • skeletal: no necrophagous species, adventous species predominate
38
Q

Identification of insect species that are not commonly associated with the location of the death scene suggests:

A

Post-mortem movement of the body

39
Q

What happens when temperatures exceed the optimum for insect development?

A

Development is negatively affected until death occurs

40
Q

Maggots undergo 3 stages of growth known as:

A

In stars

41
Q

The first written report of the use of insects in legal investigation occurred in which country?

A

China

42
Q

True or false: smooth and hairy maggots should never be placed in the same container

A

True

Forensics (18 decks)

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