School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Arizona State University West Campus, 4701 W Thunderbird Road, Glendale, AZ, 85306.
Department of Entomology, Purdue University, 901 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907.
J Forensic Sci. 2020 Nov;65(6):2036-2041. doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.14531. Epub 2020 Aug 10.
Research documenting insect colonization of human remains is limited in North America, and currently nonexistent for the American Midwest. Such research is essential for forensic entomologists to identify species of research interest in a region. In this study, we collected insects from human remains in 24 cases across Indiana from June 2016 through September 2018. We analyzed species composition across scene type and season. Eight species of blow flies were collected as larvae from human remains, with Phormia regina and Lucilia sericata as the two predominant colonizers. Phormia regina was the most numerous species collected from outdoor scenes (73.6% of total collections) while L. sericata was the most numerous from the indoor scenes (60.4% of total collections). With scene types pooled, Calliphora vicina and Cochliomya macellaria were the predominant species in the fall (55.6% and 42.2%, respectively); P. regina was the dominant colonizer in the spring (68.6%); and P. regina and L. sericata were the predominant colonizers (46.5% and 44.4%, respectively) in the summer. In addition to these findings, we confirmed the first record of Lucilia cuprina colonizing human remains in Indiana having collected this species from three cases. A single adult Chrysomya megacephala was collected from an indoor scene in southern Indiana, which represents its second collection in the state. Beetles belonging to the families Staphylinidae, Silphidae, Histeridae, Cleridae, Trogidae, Dermestdae, and Nitidulidae were also collected from two outdoor scenes. This study provides important baseline data for forensic entomologists in Indiana, as well as surrounding states with similar environments.
研究记录昆虫对人类遗骸的定殖在北美的研究有限，目前在中西部地区尚未存在。此类研究对于法医昆虫学家在一个地区确定研究感兴趣的物种至关重要。在这项研究中，我们从印第安纳州 24 个案例中的人类遗骸中收集了昆虫，时间从 2016 年 6 月到 2018 年 9 月。我们分析了场景类型和季节的物种组成。从人类遗骸中收集到了 8 种麻蝇幼虫，其中 Phormia regina 和 Lucilia sericata 是两种主要定殖者。Phormia regina 是从户外场景中收集到的最多的物种（占总收集量的 73.6%），而 L. sericata 是从室内场景中收集到的最多的物种（占总收集量的 60.4%）。将场景类型合并后，Calliphora vicina 和 Cochliomya macellaria 是秋季的主要物种（分别为 55.6%和 42.2%）；P. regina 是春季的主要定殖者（68.6%）；而 P. regina 和 L. sericata 是夏季的主要定殖者（分别为 46.5%和 44.4%）。除了这些发现，我们还证实了 Lucilia cuprina 在印第安纳州定殖人类遗骸的首次记录，从三个案例中收集了这种物种。在印第安纳州南部的一个室内场景中收集到了一只成年 Chrysomya megacephala，这是该物种在该州的第二次采集。从两个户外场景中还收集到了属于鞘翅目、隐翅目、步甲科、皮蠹科、甲科、皮蠹科和金花虫科的甲虫。这项研究为印第安纳州以及环境相似的周边州的法医昆虫学家提供了重要的基线数据。
