NCJ Number
206225
Journal
Anil Aggrawal's Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: 2004 Pages: 12-18
Date Published
2004
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This case history that involved efforts to determine time of death from patterns of insect infestation of the corpse was complicated by the singular presence of an unknown insect species and the activity of two species of parasitoid wasps that intervened in the normal developmental cycle of the primary insect.
Abstract
In a small town in northeast Italy, the decaying remains of a young woman were found in an empty house with tightly shut doors and windows. The house had not been inhabited for a long time. The entomoforensic investigation detected an unusual insect cenoses that created problems in estimating the actual time interval since death. Except for very few beetles, the body had been colonized by a monospecific population of the fly, Hydrotaea capensis, which had apparently entered the house under the door after having been drawn by the corpse's smell. The fly population had been parasitized by two species of parasitoid wasps. The laboratory examination focused on the life cycle of the fly, which had to be determined by original research absent any previous information on the species. The implication of the parasitoids for the growth and density of the fly population was also investigated. The investigation determined that the death had occurred at least 4 months prior to the discovery of the body; however, the lack of the necrophagous biodiversity and the intervention of the parasitoids prevented a precise determination of when death occurred. 4 figures, 1 table, and 46 references