Rivers David, Waters Kelly
Department of Biology, Loyola University Maryland, 4501 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21210, USA.
Department of Forensic Science, Loyola University Maryland, 4501 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21210, USA.
Int J Legal Med. 2024 Mar;138(2):583-590. doi: 10.1007/s00414-023-03103-0. Epub 2023 Oct 9.
Insect stains produced by adult Dermestes maculatus were characterized during interactions with human blood. Beetles were offered wet or dried blood positioned on ceramic tiles under laboratory conditions. Despite a life history strategy geared toward consumption of dried food stuffs, adult beetles interacted with wet blood more frequently than dried and produced more insect stains after ingesting wet blood. Most (> 95%) of the insect stains produced were the result of fecal elimination. These stains varied in morphologies but were consistently tan/light, black/grey, or red in color; were round to amorphous in shape; and frequently possessed tails. Tailed stains typically were tadpole-shaped or long and tapering from the stain body, yielding Ltl/Lb ratios greater than 1. Tails were the result of beetle locomotion while defecating. Human blood was detected in defecatory stains when using ABA Hematrace® lateral flow assays. When beetles interacted with dried blood, the bloodstains were most often modified due to physical disruption rather than feeding activity. This yielded flaking or dislodgement of the original stains. Within a forensic context, it is unknown whether D. maculatus interacts with any type of bloodstains at a crime scene.
在与人类血液相互作用的过程中，对成年黄斑皮蠹产生的昆虫污渍进行了特征描述。在实验室条件下，给甲虫提供放置在瓷砖上的湿血或干血。尽管其生活史策略倾向于食用干燥食物，但成年甲虫与湿血的相互作用比与干血更频繁，并且在摄入湿血后产生了更多的昆虫污渍。产生的大多数（>95%）昆虫污渍是粪便排出的结果。这些污渍形态各异，但颜色始终为棕褐色/浅色、黑色/灰色或红色；形状从圆形到无定形；并且经常有尾巴。有尾污渍通常呈蝌蚪形或长形，从污渍主体逐渐变细，Ltl/Lb 比值大于 1。尾巴是甲虫排便时移动的结果。使用 ABA Hematrace® 侧向流动检测法时，在粪便污渍中检测到了人类血液。当甲虫与干血相互作用时，血迹最常因物理破坏而非进食活动而改变。这导致原始污渍剥落或移位。在法医背景下，尚不清楚黄斑皮蠹是否会在犯罪现场与任何类型的血迹相互作用。
