Best practice in forensic entomology—standards and guidelines

Abstract

Forensic entomology, the use of insects and other arthropods in forensic investigations, is becoming increasingly more important in such investigations. To ensure its optimal use by a diverse group of professionals including pathologists, entomologists and police officers, a common frame of guidelines and standards is essential. Therefore, the European Association for Forensic Entomology has developed a protocol document for best practice in forensic entomology, which includes an overview of equipment used for collection of entomological evidence and a detailed description of the methods applied. Together with the definitions of key terms and a short introduction to the most important methods for the estimation of the minimum postmortem interval, the present paper aims to encourage a high level of competency in the field of forensic entomology.

The effect of body size on the rate of decomposition in a temperate region of South Africa

“…PMI can therefore only be estimated. The longer the PMI, the less accurate the estimation of the interval will be [22]. The process of decay is influenced by a number of aspects, for example, the complexity of integrating all factors affecting insect devel opment [21].…”

Crime scene and body alterations caused by arthropods: implications in death investigation

“…Therefore, the arthropods found at a crime scene and on a victim's body can assist many types of forensic investigation [1,3]. In particular, they can provide information about time since death, season of death, primary crime scene, movement or concealment of the remains following death, specific sites of trauma on the body, use of drugs and neglect of children [4], elders [5] or non-autonomous people [6] and victim's identification when the body is removed from the initial decomposition site [2].…”

Miasis cutánea por Cochliomyia hominivorax asociada a dermatitis seborreica: Case report

“…La preservación del espécimen, después de su remoción, debe realizarse de la siguiente forma: sumergir a la larva por 30 segundos en agua caliente (> 80 °C) pero no hirviendo, lo que la mata; posteriormente, la larva debe ser preservada en una solución de etanol al 70-95% 13 . Debe evitarse el uso de formalina, ya que rigidiza el tejido de la larva, lo que dificulta su posterior estudio 14 .…”