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An extensive literature search pertaining to forensic entomology research was conducted for the southwestern portion of the United States (Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas), encompassing literature from 1879 through June 2020. While the majority of states (Arizona, Texas, and Oklahoma) had high numbers of topic specific papers (screwworm, development, and American burying beetle, respectively), the main paper topics for this region were arrival/decomposition studies, biodiversity, and myiasis. With 106 papers, Texas's forensic entomology literature output was higher than the three remaining states combined. This review supports the need for developmental studies of forensically relevant insects. This article is categorized under: Forensic Anthropology > Time Since Death Estimation Crime Scene Investigation > Crime Scene Examination Forensic Biology > Forensic Entomology

A comprehensive review of forensic entomology literature in the northeastern portion of the United States was conducted searching the earliest possible publication date through early 2020. Thirteen states and the capital were included in this region and yielded 172 publications. As a region, the main areas of the publications were arrival and decomposition, myiasis, and papers yielding information pertaining to biodiversity. However, there was a large fluctuation in total publications by state with Maryland producing over 30 publications, and Delaware and Vermont each producing one. Within this region only 15 publications from seven states were found concerning development, showing a severe deficiency in this category. Additional work is needed in this geographic area of the United States in most categories of work related to forensic entomology research. This article is categorized under: Forensic Biology > Interpretation of Biological Evidence Forensic Anthropology > Time Since Death Estimation Crime Scene Investigation > Crime Scene Examination

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Forensic entomology is an important field of forensic science that utilizes insect evidence in criminal investigations. Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are among the first colonizers of remains and are frequently used in determining the minimum postmortem interval (mPMI). Blow fly development is influenced by a variety of factors including temperature and feeding substrate. Unfortunately, dietary fat content remains an understudied factor in the development process, which is problematic given the high rates of obesity in the United States. To study the effects of fat content on blow flies we investigated survivorship, adult weight, and development time (overall and by sex) of Lucilia sericata (Meigen) and Phormia regina (Meigen) on ground beef with 10%, 20%, or 27% fat. As fat content increased, survivorship decreased across both species with significant impact to P. regina. While P. regina adults were generally larger than L. sericata across all fat levels, only L. sericata demonstrated a significant (P < 0.05) difference in weight by sex. Overall development times did not vary by fat content, excluding 27% for P. regina. Additionally, development times did not vary by sex for P. regina but did differ (P < 0.05) for L. sericata with females taking longer to develop. These findings provide insight into the effect of fat content on blow fly development, a factor that should be considered when estimating an mPMI. By understanding how fat levels affect the survivorship and development of the species studied here, we can begin improving the practice of insect evidence analysis in casework.

The field of forensic entomology has grown exponentially within the last 50 years. While research in this discipline is conducted globally, the United States in particular has produced a significant amount of work relevant to forensic entomology. The Pacific region of the United States, characterized to include Hawai'i, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and the islands of American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, has produced a broad array of such studies. Works of interest include surveys of forensically important insects, studies on carrion decomposition and insect succession, studies on the developmental rate of sarcosaprophagous insects, molecular studies to detect differences between geographically distant populations of the same species, studies on the microbial makeup of carrion and carrion‐feeding insects, entomotoxicological research, decomposition communities in aquatic environments, and case reports detailing insects recovered from death investigations as well as myiasis of livestock and humans. This review will outline research that originates from each of the aforementioned regions and review the results, while identifying knowledge gaps, and providing recommended areas of improvement to further increase diversity of forensic entomology research in the Pacific region. This article is categorized under: Forensic Anthropology > Time Since Death Estimation Forensic Biology > Forensic Entomology

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This review covers relevant literature for the study of forensic entomology in Alaska, United States. It highlights work completed in the region and calls attention to areas that warrant additional study. Research covered includes, but is not limited to, surveys of blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae), mammalian decomposition projects, carrion associated arthropod communities, and necrophage microbial communities associated with Alaskan salmon spawning. The unique climate, location, and terrain of Alaska compared to other regions within the United States warrants additional studies in this region to establish baseline data on the biodiversity, development, and succession of forensically important insects in the area. This article is categorized under: Forensic Biology > Forensic Entomology