Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary Parasitology, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Mhow, Indore (M.P.), India
Review Article
Application of Forensic Entomology to Estimating Time since Death
Author(s): G. Das, H.K. Mehta, M. Shakya, A. K. Jayraw and G.P. Jatav
Forensic entomology relates primarily to determination of time (time since death or post mortem interval) or site of human death and possible criminal misuse of insects. Estimation of time since death is the length of time between death and corpse recovery. Post mortem determination becomes more difficult for pathologist with the elapsed of time. Insect life cycles act as precise clocks which begin within minutes of death. They can be used to closely determine the time of death, especially useful when other methods are useless. They can also show if a body has been moved after death. The time of death, can usually be determined using insect evidence gathered from and around a corpse. One of the first groups of insects that arrive on a dead body is the blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae). However, after three days, insect evidence is often the most accurate and sometimes the only method.. View More»