Current Status of Five Warm Season Diptera Species in Estimating the Post-Mortem Interval

Abstract

Abstract The accurate estimation of the time of death (Post-Mortem Interval, PMI) is of great importance when reconstructing the actual events at a crime scene following the recovery of a body. The reliability of the PMI is vital to validate witness statements and suspect alibis. The PMI estimation based on insects collected from remains relies on two fundamental principles. Firstly, the development of an insect is proportionate to its surrounding environmental condition, and secondly, colonization by insects and other arthropods typically occur according to predictable sequences subjected to seasonality, environment in which the decomposition takes place, and the possible presence of xenobiotics in the food substrate (e.g., drugs). Dipteran species of the family Calliphoridae are the most common species colonizing a corpse and carcass, and a large body of research in entomology is focused on their developmental data. Such data is used forensically to estimate the PMI via three types of calculation: accumulated degree day/hour, table of growth, and isomegalen/isomorphen diagram. Much of this research has been documented during the 20th century, in different countries, using different experimental designs and analyses. This review tabulates development data obtained from 74 manuscripts published between 1933 and 2021 for five cosmopolitan blowfly species associated with the early stages of decomposition during the warmer seasons: Chrysomya megacephala, Ch. rufifacies, Ch. albiceps, Lucilia sericata, and L. cuprina. This review highlights the importance of establishing a standardized protocol to conduct future development studies and maintaining a system for retrieval of this data for future PMI calculations.