Institute of Legal Medicine, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe-University, Kennedyallee 104, 60596, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Int J Legal Med. 2021 Nov;135(6):2637-2651. doi: 10.1007/s00414-021-02628-6. Epub 2021 Sep 30.
This study highlights the importance of insect evidence by evaluating 949 insect-associated cases, including 139 entomological reports, from 2001 to 2019 at the Institute of Legal Medicine Frankfurt/Germany. With a high number of cases in the summer months and a low number in the colder season, 78.5% of the bodies were found indoors, regardless of year or month. In more than 80% of the cases, where PMI information was available (n = 704), the presumed PMI ranged from 1 to 21 days, a period during which entomological evidence can provide a day-specific estimate of PMI. In cases where insects have been identified to species level (n = 279), most bodies were infested by one or two species with a maximum of 10 different species. Overall, a total of 55 insect species were found. Information on biology, activity and distribution of the most abundant taxa is given and applied for 5 case histories estimating different PMIs of up to over 6 months. Despite proved importance and scientific development of forensic entomology, insects are still rarely considered as a tool in forensic case work. The main reasons are a lack of awareness and (too) late involvement of a forensic entomologist. Our work shows that forensic entomology is an independent discipline that requires specialist expertise.
本研究通过评估德国法兰克福法医学研究所 2001 年至 2019 年期间的 949 例与昆虫有关的案例，包括 139 份昆虫学报告，强调了昆虫证据的重要性。无论年份或月份如何，78.5%的尸体在夏季月份发现，在较冷的季节发现的数量较少。在有 PMI 信息可用的情况下（n=704），超过 80%的案例中，推测的 PMI 范围从 1 天到 21 天，在此期间，昆虫学证据可以提供特定日期的 PMI 估计。在已经鉴定到种的案例中（n=279），大多数尸体被一种或两种昆虫寄生，最多有 10 种不同的物种。总体而言，共发现 55 种昆虫。给出了最丰富类群的生物学、活动和分布信息，并应用于 5 个案例历史记录，估计了长达 6 个月以上的不同 PMI。尽管法医昆虫学的重要性和科学发展已经得到证实，但在法医案件工作中，昆虫仍然很少被视为一种工具。主要原因是缺乏意识和（太晚）涉及法医昆虫学家。我们的工作表明，法医昆虫学是一个需要专业知识的独立学科。
