The decomposition of animal carcasses occurs, in addition to other factors, through the action of necrophagous insects. The objective of the present study was to observe the successional patterns, the effect of carcass decay and the insect species as potential forensic indicators in urban areas. The experiments were conducted in the city of Campinas, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Two pigs (Sus scrofa L.) weighing ca. 15 Kg were used as baits. Both adult and immature insects were collected on a daily basis until apparent insect activity had ceased. Data on carcass body mass loss, carcass and environment temperature were also registerd daily. The colonization of the carcasses by necrophagous insects was characterized by a distinct sequence of arrival of adult specimens of different species of Diptera and Coleoptera. They were the main decomposing agents of the carcass and used this substratum as a breeding medium. Nine species - Chrysomya albiceps, C. putoria, C. megacephala, Lucilia eximia, Hemilucilia segmentaria, H. semidiaphana, Cochilomyia macellaria, Ophyra chalcogaster e Patonella intermutans - can be considered as potential forensic indicators in Southeastern Brazil. The decomposition time and the duration of each decomposition stage were affected by the activity of the insects, temperature and rainfall.
Species 1: Diptera Calliphoridae Chrysomya (blow fly)
Species 2: Diptera Sarcophagidae (flesh fly)
Species 3: Diptera Muscidae Ophyra chalcogaster
Keywords: forensic entomology, insect succession
Back to Display Presentations, Section D: Medical and Veterinary Entomology
Back to Posters
Back to The 2002 ESA Annual Meeting and Exhibition