Neto-Silva António, Dinis-Oliveira Ricardo Jorge, Prado E Castro Catarina
Department of Public Health, Forensic Sciences and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Department of Sciences, IINFACTS - Institute of Research and Advanced Training in Health Sciences and Technologies, University Institute of Health Sciences (IUCS), CESPU, CRL, Gandra, Portugal.
Forensic Sci Res. 2017 Sep 22;3(1):65-73. doi: 10.1080/20961790.2017.1372875. eCollection 2018.
The value of the Formicidae (Insecta, Hymenoptera) community in forensic investigations is poorly studied in Portugal. In order to better understand the structure and dynamics of this group of insects in cadavers and their putative value in forensic investigations, studies were carried out in Lisbon area during one year. Piglet carcasses were used as a model of human decomposition. The entomofauna attracted to the carcasses was collected over a period of about 2 months in each season of the year. The collection of ants was performed at regular intervals, daily in the first 23 days and then with intervals of 2, 3 or 5 days until the end of the experiment. Five stages of cadaveric decomposition were recognized with the ants being present in all of them. Three hundred and nine specimens were captured: 7 in autumn, 6 in winter, 90 in spring and 206 in summer. These specimens belong to three subfamilies and seven different species. Four of them had never been mentioned before as being associated to cadavers in this geographical area. Spring and summer had the greater diversity of species and a larger number of individuals. was the dominant species in spring and in summer. Corroborating the information of other similar studies carried out in the Iberian Peninsula, the sarcosaprophagous Formicidae community found in Lisbon is unique and different from other studied locations, which supports the need to perform regional studies. Our results shown that ants do not present a definite pattern of succession, but some species have the potential to be seasonal or geographic indicators.
在葡萄牙，蚁科（昆虫纲，膜翅目）群落对于法医学调查的价值鲜有研究。为了更好地了解这类昆虫在尸体上的结构和动态变化以及它们在法医学调查中的潜在价值，我们于一年内在里斯本地区开展了研究。仔猪尸体被用作人类尸体分解的模型。在一年中的每个季节，大约持续2个月的时间收集被尸体吸引的昆虫群落。蚂蚁的采集定期进行，在实验的前23天每天采集，之后每隔2、3或5天采集一次，直至实验结束。我们识别出了尸体分解的五个阶段，各个阶段均有蚂蚁出现。共捕获309个标本：秋季7个，冬季6个，春季90个，夏季206个。这些标本分属于三个亚科和七个不同的物种。其中有四个物种在该地理区域内从未被提及与尸体有关。春季和夏季的物种多样性更高，个体数量也更多。[此处原文缺失物种名]是春季的优势物种，[此处原文缺失物种名]是夏季的优势物种。伊比利亚半岛其他类似研究的信息也证实，在里斯本发现的嗜尸性蚁科群落是独特的，与其他研究地点不同，这支持了开展区域研究的必要性。我们的结果表明，蚂蚁并没有呈现出明确的演替模式，但一些物种有可能成为季节性或地理指标。
