Developmental Biology of Forensically Important Beetle, Necrophila

The postmortem interval (PMI) estimation, in cases where the body was discovered in an advanced stage of decomposition, is predominantly based on entomological evidence. However, very few forensically important species are sufficiently known in detail to allow a practical application. One of them is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of medical entomology 2021-01, Vol.58 (1), p.64
Main Authors: Jakubec, Pavel, Qubaiova, Jarin, Novak, Ma, Ruzicka, Jan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Beetles
Developmental biology
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The postmortem interval (PMI) estimation, in cases where the body was discovered in an advanced stage of decomposition, is predominantly based on entomological evidence. However, very few forensically important species are sufficiently known in detail to allow a practical application. One of them is the carrion beetle, Necrophila (Calosilpha) brunnicollis (Kraatz, 1877). Its development from egg to adulthood was studied under a range of ecologically relevant constant temperatures to find parameters of thermal summation models. Developmental sexual dimorphism and the presence of developmental rate isomorphy were investigated. Herein we present the lower developmental thresholds and sum of effective temperatures for all developmental stages of N. brunnicollis (egg, first-third larval instar, postfeeding stage, and pupae). We did not find any evidence of developmental sexual dimorphism nor was the presence of developmental rate isomorphy confirmed. Our results present the first thermal summation model of the East Asian carrion beetle that can be used for the PMI estimation. Key words: Silphinae, forensic entomology, developmental rate, thermal summation model, sexual dimorphism
ISSN:0022-2585
DOI:10.1093/jme/tjaa170