Effect of Temperature on the Survival and Development of Three Forensically Relevant Dermestes Species (Coleoptera: Dermestidae)

Abstract

Most Dermestes species (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) are scavengers during both larval and adult stages, with a preference for dry organic matter. Because of this, Dermestes beetles are potentially useful indicators in forensic investigations concerning skeletonized and mummified human remains. However, there is a paucity of reference developmental data on most forensically relevant Dermestes species. This study analyses the effect of five constant temperatures (15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 °C) on the survival and developmental rates of three of the forensically most relevant dermestids: Dermestes frischii Kugelan, Dermestes maculatus De Geer, and Dermestes undulatus Brahm. Pig skin was used as rearing substrate, to use a substrate as similar as possible to that exploited in nature. Overall, the temperature had a significant effect on the survival and the duration of development, with optimal values at intermediate temperatures. Both D. frischii and D. maculatus showed similar developmental rates and the shortest developmental times at 30 °C, whereas D. undulatus developed faster at lower temperatures. At 15 °C, both D. frischii and D. undulatus did not oviposit, whereas no D. maculatus individuals survived beyond the pupal stage. An inconsistent number of larval instars per individual were observed across different constant temperatures in the three species. The present study aims to provide baseline developmental data for further advances in the potential use of Dermestes beetles as forensic tools in long postmortem interval cases.

Behavioral and Electrophysiological Responses of the Fringed Larder Beetle Dermestes frischii to the Smell of a Cadaver at Different Decomposition Stages

“…Through these stages, the corpse dries more and more. As a consequence, dry protein-rich organic matter (e.g., skin and tissues) are most abundant and are known to be the favorite feeding source for coleopterans, such as Dermestidae [23][24][25]. The number of chemo-ecological studies investigating coleopteran species is relatively low compared with those on blowflies, and among them, Silphidae are the most studied [15].…”

Dermestes maculatus (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) development under fluoxetine effect using two drug administration models

“…This was not a surprise because those results were already observed when D . maculatus development was studied under controlled conditions [28, 32, 53, 54]. Thus, we did not attribute that to fluoxetine.…”

Recommendations for Maintaining a Dermestid Beetle Colony (Dermestes maculatus) for Processing Human Remains

“…This may be because no forensic anthropological literature to date has presented recommendations or guidelines for maintaining a dermestid colony. The existing entomology literature about dermestids tends to discuss topics such as taxonomy (e.g., 2), necessary temperatures for development (e.g., 15,16), or artifact dermestids leave behind on animal bone after consuming soft tissue (e.g., 17,18). Literature about dermestids for a broader audience is generally focused on their use for processing nonhuman animal specimens (7,8,9,10,11,19), evidence of their activity from the archaeological or paleontological records (20,21,22,23,24,25), or evidence that they were present on human remains at a modern crime scene (3,26,27,28).…”