One of the most important and perhaps most used applications of forensic entomology concerns the estimation of the minimum post-mortem interval (minPMI), defined as the time interval between death and the actual finding of a corpse. Some Diptera species are critical in these studies because they are the first ones capable of detecting and finding a corpse and are selectively attracted by its decomposing status. Thus, the knowledge of the micromorphology of their preimaginal stages and of their life cycles within a time frame constitutes solid indicators for estimating the minPMI.
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