Department of Zoology, College of Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Minia University, El Minia, Egypt.
J Med Entomol. 2021 Mar 12;58(2):567-575. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjaa237.
This study investigates the succession of insects and the length of the decomposition of rabbit carcasses injected with heroin. In total, 24 rabbits (2-2.5 kg, Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus L.) were used in the study. Twelve carcasses were exposed to insect activity in winter (January and February) and 12 in summer (July and August) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Three replicate experiments were conducted in each season. For each experiment, three rabbits were injected with varying doses of heroin, and the fourth rabbit was used as a control, being injected only with saline solution. Insects belonging to the order Diptera, Coleoptera, and Hymenoptera were attracted to the carcasses. In both of the investigated seasons, heroin appeared to delay the decomposition process but did not have a significant impact on the number of insects. In general, the number of flies in both seasons was substantially higher than that of beetles and ants. During the summer, flies were more attracted to treated carcasses with a higher dose of heroin. Some flies such as Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae) and Chrysomya albiceps Wiedemann (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and some beetles such as Pimelia boyeri Solier (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) were represented on the carcasses by different developmental instars (larvae, pupae, and adults). Overall, heroin has not potential effects on the insect succession patterns of insect, however, influences the decomposition of rabbit carcasses. These findings are important while using insects in medicolegal investigation, since heroin is one of the common poisons used as an addictive agent.
本研究调查了昆虫的演替和注射海洛因的兔尸分解的时间长度。总共使用了 24 只兔子（2-2.5 公斤，家兔）。12 具尸体在沙特阿拉伯利雅得的冬季（1 月和 2 月）和夏季（7 月和 8 月）暴露于昆虫活动中。每个季节进行了三个重复实验。对于每个实验，三只兔子注射了不同剂量的海洛因，第四只兔子作为对照，只注射生理盐水。属于双翅目、鞘翅目和膜翅目的昆虫被吸引到尸体上。在两个研究季节中，海洛因似乎都延迟了分解过程，但对昆虫的数量没有显著影响。一般来说，两个季节的苍蝇数量都大大高于甲虫和蚂蚁的数量。在夏季，苍蝇对剂量较高的海洛因处理过的尸体更具吸引力。一些苍蝇，如家蝇（双翅目：蝇科）和黄尾黑凤蝶（双翅目：丽蝇科），以及一些甲虫，如黑缘步甲（鞘翅目：步甲科），在尸体上表现出不同的发育阶段（幼虫、蛹和成虫）。总体而言，海洛因对昆虫演替模式没有潜在影响，但会影响兔尸的分解。这些发现很重要，因为在法医调查中使用昆虫时，海洛因是作为成瘾剂使用的常见毒物之一。
