A checklist of arthropods associated with pig carrion and human corpses in Southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Necrophagous insects, mainly Diptera and Coleoptera, are attracted to specific stages of carcass decomposition, in a process of faunistic succession. They are very important in estimating the postmortem interval, the time interval between the death and the discovery of the body. In studies done with pig carcasses exposed to natural conditions in an urban forest (Santa Genebra Reservation) Key words: forensic entomology -Diptera -Coleoptera -carrion insects -decomposition -death timeThe decomposition of a dead body starts firstly through the action of microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria, followed by the action of a series of arthropods, with the predominance of the sarcosaprophagous insects (Nuorteva 1977). Notable differences were noted in the decomposition process, basically related to time of disintegration, being faster in the presence than in the absence of insects (Payne 1965, Jirón & Cartín 1981.After death, the body undergoes natural changes, going through different stages of decomposition that are attractive to necrophagous insects. According to Bornemissza (1957) the decomposer community of a carcass goes through a process of ecological succession. Therefore, the insects arrive in a determined sequence, producing an addition and/or substitution of species. Knowing this sequence as well as their preference for the different stages of decomposition, and the meteorological data, it is possible to determine the postmortem interval (PMI). Insects can also verify the cause of death and if the body was moved (Catts & Goff 1992, Anderson 1997.The basic reason for using insects in criminal investigations, a science denominated as forensic entomology, resides in the fact that insects are the first ones to detect and to find a cadaver and are present in all stages of decomposition and, furthermore, some species are specific for certain areas and seasons. Another important point to be considered is that oviposition can occur minutes after death (Smith 1986). It is interesting to point out that insects of forensic importance are those that do not just visit the corpse or carcass in the adult form, but also breed in these substrates because, by knowing the developmental time of their larvae, it is possible to estimate the time of death.Our objective was to determine the insects that are of importance in estimating the time of death for the study area. Samples were collected from pig carcasses exposed to a natural urban forest and from human corpses at the Institute of Legal Medicine (ILM) 136 136 136 136 136 Arthropods of Pig Carrion and Human Corpses in Brazil LML Carvalho et al. MATERIALS AND METHODSThe study was done in two different environments: in a natural forest area (Santa Genebra Reservation) and at the ILM, both located in the city of Campinas, State of São Paulo. The data were collected from 1994 to 1998.In the natural area (Morellato & H Leitão-Filho 1995), 16 pig carcasses (Sus scrofa Linnaeus) weighting approximately 10 kg each were used as baits. They were killed mechanically with a blow to th...

Temporal distribution of blowflies of forensic importance (Diptera: Calliphoridae), in man-size domestic pigs carcasses, in the Forest Reserve Adolpho Ducke, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

“…The published Brazilian studies on forensic ecological communities, that used domestic pigs as models, also used pseudoreplicates (CarvalhO et al 2000;CarvalhO et al 2001CarvalhO et al , 2004marChiOri et al 2000;Oliveira-da-silva et al (2006);BarBOsa et al 2010;Biavati et al 2010;Mise et al 2010).…”

Levantamento da fauna de Coleoptera que habita a carcaça de Sus scrofa L., em Curitiba, Paraná

“…Souza & Linhares (1997) coletaram adultos de N. rufipes nos estágios de putrefação, putrefação escura e fermentação butírica, durante um ano, em Sus scrofa, em Campinas, Brasil. Carvalho et al (2000) coletaram essa espécie em cadáveres humanos no Instituto de Medicina Legal de Campinas, de 1993 a 1998. Essa mesma espécie foi capturada por Wolff et al (2001), em Medellín, Colômbia, usando Sus scrofa como substrato, nos estágios avançado e seco.…”

Effects of temperature on the development of the Neotropical carrion beetle Oxelytrum discicolle (Brullé, 1840) (Coleoptera: Silphidae)

“…In Brasil, Moura et al [5] found adults and larvae of O. discicolle in rat carrion in the state of Paraná; Carvalho et al [6] found larvae of O. discicolle in pig carrion in the state of São Paulo. In Colombia, only adults of O. discicolle have been reported; Barreto et al [7] registered the species in human corpses in Cali; and Wolff et al [8] in pig carrion in Medellín.…”