Annual variation in arrival and departure times of carrion insects at carcasses: implications for succession studies in forensic entomology

Citations Over TimeTop 11% of 2004 papers

Abstract

A succession of insect species associate with decaying bodies, and because of the relatively predictable arrival and departure times of many species, this process is routinely used to estimate minimum post-mortem interval. Corpse fauna are compared with baseline data on succession rates, which are usually taken from decomposing animal carcasses. Baseline data are traditionally collected over a single year only; however, annual differences in weather patterns and insect population parameters probably alter succession rates. Surprisingly, this potential source of error has not previously been examined. Therefore, a two-year succession experiment was performed to investigate annual variation in succession rates. Sets of five still-born piglet carcasses were placed in a forest each season of both years. Six insects that occur year-round were selected: adults of Aleochara brachialis Jekel, Anotylus spp., Creophilus erythrocephalus Fabricius (Staphylinidae: Coleoptera), Ptomaphila lacrymosa Schreibers (Silphidae: Coleoptera), Pseudonemadus spp. (Leiodidae: Coleoptera), and larvae of Calliphora spp. (Calliphoridae: Diptera). Arrival and departure weeks to and from carcasses were measured in each season of both years. Two-way ANOVAs revealed significant season and year interactions on the arrival weeks of Anotylus spp., C. erythrocephalus , and Pseudonemadus spp., and significant differences in seasonal and yearly arrival times for A. brachialis , and P. lacrymosa . For larvaeof Calliphora spp., there was a significant seasonal effect on arrival times. A significant interaction between season and year affected the departure weeks of all taxa. These results show that error in the estimates of minimum post-mortem interval can result if baseline succession data are collected only over one year.

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