Direct relationship between evapotranspiration rate (ET) and vertebrate decomposition rate.

When vertebrate scavenging is excluded, the Evapotranspiration Rate (ET) of a given geographic region directly regulates the decomposition rate of unclothed vertebrate carrion, with any deviation attributed to insect activity. We conducted four decomposition experiments using pig carrion (Sus scrofa domesticus) over the span of two years (2018-2020) at a location in Davis, California. We used ET, a variable that accounts for five climatic parameters (wind, temperature, humidity, solar radiation, and altitude) as the rate-determining variable of the decomposition process.

Insect biodiversity of the Algodones Dunes of California.

Over a nine year period beginning in 2007 we surveyed the insects of the Algodones Dunes, Imperial Count, California, as part of a study undertaken for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

DEET (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) induced delay of blowfly landing and oviposition rates on treated pig carrion (Sus scrofa L.).

The question of whether the insect repellent N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) affected fly attraction, oviposition, and larval development was investigated; in part, to determine whether the common habit of wearing DEET as a repellent could affect the rate of human decomposition. Experiments using pig surrogates of human decedents were carried out in a rural environment. Dead piglets were sprayed with DEET, and fly behavior, colonization levels, and maggot development were compared with those in nonsprayed controls.