Forensic Acarology

Abstract

Mites can be found pretty much everywhere in our houses and furnishings, on our clothes and even in the pores of our skin. Forensic acarology is the name given to the study of mites (including ticks) that forms part of the evidence in legal cases, but primarily associated with death enquiries. As mites are so widespread, there are few situations in which people and different objects associated with the crime will not be exposed to them, and they could serve as important trace evidence in forensic investigations. Flies along with their phoretic mites are the first scavengers colonizing a dead body. During butyric fermentation of corpse and advanced stages of decay, large numbers of mites are attracted to the corpse and may be visible to the naked eye. Large quantities of mites give a fluffy appearance to the decomposing body. More than 100 species of mites from over 60 families have been reported on animal carcases, but 75 mite species distributed in 20 families are also reported on human corpses. Representatives of families Parasitidae, Macrochelidae, Ascidae, Demodicidae, Acaridae, Histiostomatidae and Uropodidae are dominantly reported on dead bodies. Besides Mesostigmata, sometimes members of Astigmata and Prostigmata are also reported on carcases.