Insect signature indicating body movement from urban to rural areas in northeastern Ohio

The distribution of insects geographically may provide evidence which indicates the movement of remains from one location to another. The aims of this study were to observe insect succession in an urban and rural area in northeastern Ohio to see if there is a difference in the species present. It was hypothesized that there would be a difference in species composition between the urban and rural sites and the body moved should retain insect evidence indicating initial exposure to urban insects. Six domestic pig carcasses, from 12-19 kg were used in this study: two placed in a rural area of Cuyahoga County, and four in an urban area on Cleveland State University campus. After 24 hours, two of the carcasses from the urban location were moved to the rural location. Each carcass was sampled from 16 June 2009 to 1 August 2009. Hand sorting, aerial sweep netting, and pitfall traps were employed for each pig. All three carcass types supported a similar array of blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and beetles (Coleoptera). The dominant calliphorid, Phormia regina, represented approximately 66% of all specimens collected and was similarly represented on all carcass types. Although there were a few species present only on certain carcass types, statistically there was no significant difference in insect composition between the treatments. Our analysis reveals that while species dominance and presence/absence of taxa may not indicate body movement in northeast Ohio, it does provide a database of forensically important insects which may be useful in future investigations.