Molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis of the forensically important family Piophilidae (Diptera) from different European locations.

Species identification plays an important role in forensic entomology and is mandatory for an accurate calculation of the minimum post-mortem interval. Many important Diptera and Coleoptera taxa of the cadaver community can already be identified by common barcoding approaches, i.e.

Species composition of forensically important blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) through space and time.

Weekly monitoring of forensically important flight-active blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) was performed using small baited traps. Sampling took place in two rural, one suburban and two urban habitats in and around Frankfurt (Main), Germany, lasting two years and eight months. Highest values for species richness and Chao-Shen entropy estimator for Shannon's index in both families were found at the urban sites, peaking during summer.

Diapause-specific gene expression in Calliphora vicina (Diptera: Calliphoridae)--a useful diagnostic tool for forensic entomology.

Estimating the post mortem interval (PMImin) by age determination of blow fly larvae has been well-established for moderate temperatures. Low-temperature developmental data is only available sparsely and usually does not take overwintering strategies into account. The blow fly Calliphora vicina hibernates by diapausing in the third larval stage extending the duration of this developmental stage up to several weeks or even months.

Lucilia silvarum Meigen, 1826 (Diptera: Calliphoridae)--a new species of interest for forensic entomology in Europe.

In Europe, the blowfly genus Lucilia is represented in Forensic Entomology mainly by the species L. ampullacea, L. caesar, L.

Fast and simple DNA extraction from saliva and sperm cells obtained from the skin or isolated from swabs.

The forensic scientist often has to cope with problematic samples from the crime scene due to their minute size and thus the low amount of extractable DNA. The retrieval of DNA from swabs taken from the surface of the skin, for example, in cases of strangulation, can be especially difficult. We systematically investigated swabs taken from the skin (to obtain a genetic profile from the victim and also from a possible offender) and from sperm cell containing swabs using two extraction kits: the Invisorb forensic and the Invisorb spin swab kit (both Invitek, Germany).