The study of insect activity on human remains and at a crime scene to help estimate the time since death and other circumstances of a case. One of the earliest documented cases is a 1235 Chinese murder investigation described by the official Song Ci, in which a swarm of blow flies gathered on one of several sickles laid out for inspection, drawn to blood residue invisible to the eye, exposing the weapon and its owner among a group of harvest workers.
Facts
What It ExaminesInsects and other arthropods that colonize remains, whose developmental stages and succession patterns are used chiefly to estimate the time since death. 1 Formalized YearSourced to the subject's own accountDated to Bergeret d'Arbois's 1855 case report, the first documented application of insect evidence to estimate a post-mortem interval. Known LimitationSourced to the subject's own accountThe pace of insect colonization and development is influenced by temperature, geography and access to the body, so post-mortem interval estimates are ranges produced with mathematical models rather than precise times. 2 Discipline
Discipline (category) Connections
Associated With
Forensic botany and forensic entomology are the two principal biological trace disciplines used to reconstruct scene history and time since death.
Source Wikipedia: Forensic Botany
Examines Within
Pioneered By
Sources
1. Saferstein, Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science
Richard Saferstein, Pearson
2. Wikipedia: Forensic Entomology
History section
Within minutes, a swarm of blow flies gathered around one sickle and no others, attracted to traces of blood unseen by the naked eye.
In Group: Biological Evidence and DNA, Lead
uses insects and other arthropods as a basis for legal evidence
View the SourceWikipedia: Forensic Botany
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