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Essentials of Autopsy Practice pp 105–130Cite as

Forensic Entomology: A Synopsis, Guide, and Update

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Abstract

Estimating the postmortem interval is the “bread and butter” component of what the discipline of forensic entomology delivers to the judicial system in matters concerning homicides, suspicious deaths, and suicides. The following chapter introduces the reader to the different requirements necessary to collect and preserve insect material from a cadaver. Apart from the importance of the chronological interval, insect larvae can also be used to extract drugs, poisons, gunshot residues, and DNA. To be able to analyze these substances, it is not only dependent on the context of where the corpse is located but what specimens are collected and how they are preserved. Currently there are no universal procedures and methods, so the practitioner must consider each case and what information is required and apply those techniques. This chapter summarizes those techniques and the relevant tools to complete these undertakings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Forensic Science, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia

    Ian Robert Dadour PhD

  2. Faculty of Science, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia

    Beryl Morris BSc (Hons), MAgSc, MMgt, DBA, DipEd, GDipTchMgt, FRES, FAIM, FAICD, MPRIA

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  1. Ian Robert Dadour PhD
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  2. Beryl Morris BSc (Hons), MAgSc, MMgt, DBA, DipEd, GDipTchMgt, FRES, FAIM, FAICD, MPRIA
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Correspondence to Ian Robert Dadour PhD .

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  1. University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom

    Guy N. Rutty

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Dadour, I.R., Morris, B. (2014). Forensic Entomology: A Synopsis, Guide, and Update. In: Rutty, G. (eds) Essentials of Autopsy Practice. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5270-5_6

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