To date, entomology has not been used in legal investigations in Kuwait. Indeed, this is true of most Arab countries in the Middle East. There are no known studies on necrophagous species in the region, nor any knowledge of cadaver succession with which to compare case material. Here we report the first case of application of forensic entomology in Kuwait. In Al-Rowdah district, a man was found dead in his bedroom which was air-conditioned and the windows were closed. The temperature of the room was 20°C. The cause of death was morphine overdose. At autopsy, fly larvae were collected from the blanket with which the body was wrapped and were identified as postfeeding 3rd instars of Parasarcophaga (Liopygia) ruficornis using molecular analysis. In addition, the face and neck were extensively and exclusively colonized by different stages of Chrysomya albiceps (secondary fly). Based on the age of P. ruficornis full mature 3rd instars and the location of the body, approximately 7.5-8.5 days postmortem was estimated for the corpse at the time of its discovery.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2010.07.013 | DOI Listing |
Insects
January 2025
School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA.
Calliphoridae, or blow flies, are of much ecological and practical importance given their roles in decompositional ecology, medical and veterinary myiasis, and forensic entomology. As ephemeral and rapidly developing species, adults are frequently not present for identification, but puparia (the remaining outer integument of the third instar larvae) are frequently found. These heavily sclerotized remains are stable in the environment but they are of a conservative character.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Justice
January 2025
Department of Forensic Medicine, Soochow University, Ganjiang East Road, Suzhou, China. Electronic address:
The age of the oldest immature insects present on a cadaver is typically used by forensic entomologists to estimate the minimum postmortem interval (PMI). The green bottle fly, Lucilia sericata (Meigen, 1826), known for its widespread distribution and necrophagy, is of considerable significance in forensic science. This study aimed to investigate potential regional developmental disparities between populations of L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeotrop Entomol
January 2025
Integrated Lab of Simuliidae and Onchocerciasis, Medical and Forensic Entomology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Sexual mosaics in Simuliidae members have been detected at low frequencies in various locations worldwide. These phenotypic expressions are expected in very small amounts in any natural insect population and may result from inherent individual formation factors, such as hormonal or external elements, i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Legal Med
January 2025
University of Alicante, Department of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources, PO Box 99, Alicante, E-03080, Spain.
The range of the oriental latrine fly (Chrysomya megacephala) is currently expanding. It coexists with another blowfly with a similar ecology, the green bottle fly (Lucilia sericata), one of the most abundant species in carrion during warm months. It is essential to understand the influence of temperature, larval substrate type, and larval competition on the development rates of these necrophagous calliphorids to evaluate the role and the adaptation of C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Forensic Sci
January 2025
Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.
The house fly, Musca domestica, L. (Diptera: Muscidae), is a filth fly that is often associated with criminal and civil investigations surrounding abuse, neglect, and death of humans and other vertebrates. However, development data, which are crucial for determining the age of immatures collected under forensically relevant circumstances, are limited.
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