Forensic entomology is a field of forensic science that uses insects found on corpses to help solve criminal cases. This includes the study of insect types commonly associated with cadavers, their respective life cycles, their ecological presences in a given environment, as well as the changes in insect assemblage with the progression of decomposition. Insect succession patterns are identified based on the time a given species of insect spends in a given developmental stage, and how many generations have been produced since the insect's introduction to a given food source. Insect development alongside environmental data such as temperature and vapor density, can be used to estimate the time since death, due to the fact that flying insects are attracted to a body immediately after death. Forensic entomology can also provide clues about possible movement of the body after death, and the presence of antemortem trauma. The identification of postmortem interval (PMI) to aid in death investigations is the primary scope of this scientific field. However, forensic entomology is not limited to homicides, and has also been used in cases of neglect and abuse, in toxicology contexts to detect the presence of drugs, and in dry shelf food contamination incidents. Insect assemblages present on a body can be used to approximate a primary location, as certain insects may be unique to certain areas. Therefore, forensic entomology can be divided into three subfields: urban, stored-product and medico-legal/medico-criminal entomology.
Darkling beetle is the common name for members of the beetle family Tenebrionidae, comprising over 20,000 species in a cosmopolitan distribution.
Dermestidae are a family of Coleoptera that are commonly referred to as skin beetles. Other common names include larder beetle, hide or leather beetles, carpet beetles, and khapra beetles. There are over 1,800 species described.
The drugstore beetle, also known as the bread beetle, biscuit beetle, and misnamed as the biscuit weevil, is a tiny, brown beetle. It can be found infesting a wide variety of dried plant products, where it is among the most common non-weevils to be found. It is the only living member of the genus Stegobium. It belongs to the family Ptinidae, which also includes the deathwatch beetle and furniture beetle. A notable characteristic of this species is the symbiotic relationship the beetles have with the yeast they carry, which are transmitted from female to larvae through the oviduct.
The khapra beetle, also called cabinet beetle, which originated in South Asia, is one of the world's most destructive pests of grain products and seeds. It is considered one of the 100 worst invasive species in the world. Infestations are difficult to control because of the insect's ability to survive without food for long periods, its preference for dry conditions and low-moisture food, and its resistance to many insecticides. There is a federal quarantine restricting the importation of rice into the U.S. from countries with known infestations of the beetle. Khapra beetle infestation can spoil otherwise valuable trade goods and threaten significant economic losses if introduced to a new area. Handling or consuming contaminated grain and seed products can lead to health issues such as skin irritation and gastrointestinal distress.
Cleridae are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. They are commonly known as checkered beetles. The family Cleridae has a worldwide distribution, and a variety of habitats and feeding preferences.
Cryptolestes is a genus of beetles in the family Laemophloeidae. Several species are known as economically important pests of stored products, especially food grains. The four most notorious species are Cryptolestes ferrugineus, Cryptolestes pusilloides, Cryptolestes pusillus, and Cryptolestes turcicus. C. capensis, C. klapperichi, and C. ugandae are less widespread pests. Species in this genus can be hard to distinguish from one another, and definitive identification often requires close examination of the genitalia.
Oryzaephilus surinamensis, the sawtoothed grain beetle, is a beetle in the superfamily Cucujoidea. It is a common, worldwide pest of grain and grain products as well as chocolate, drugs, and tobacco. The species' binomial name, meaning "rice-lover from Suriname," was coined by Carl Linnaeus, who received specimens of the beetle from Surinam. It is also known as the malt beetle and may be referenced in the poem This Is The House That Jack Built in the line "....the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built" the malt referenced may not be actual malted grain but a sawtoothed grain beetle.
Lasioderma serricorne, more commonly referred to as the cigarette beetle, cigar beetle, or tobacco beetle, is a small beetle that shares a remarkable resemblance with the drugstore beetle and the common furniture beetle. The cigarette beetle, along with the drugstore and furniture beetles, all belong to the Ptinidae beetle family. The cigarette beetle can be distinguished from A. punctatum by its flatter thorax, whereas the A. punctatum boasts a humped thorax. The cigarette beetle can be further differentiated from S. paniceum with its uniformly serrated antennae composed of 11 segments, unlike the three-segmented antennae of S. paniceum. Additionally, L. serricorne has more shallow grooves in its elytra, or hardened wing covers, compared to the A. punctatum and S. paniceum’s deep grooving.
The palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus is one of two species of snout beetle known as the red palm weevil, Asian palm weevil or sago palm weevil. The adult beetles are relatively large, ranging between 2 and 4 centimetres long, and are usually a rusty red colour—but many colour variants exist and have often been classified as different species. Weevil larvae can excavate holes in the trunks of palm trees up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) long, thereby weakening and eventually killing the host plant. As a result, the weevil is considered a major pest in palm plantations, including the coconut palm, date palm and oil palm.
Home-stored product entomology is the study of insects that infest foodstuffs stored in the home. It deals with the prevention, detection and eradication of pests.
The red flour beetle is a species of beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, the darkling beetles. The red flour beetle, and other closely related beetles like the Gnatocerus cornutus, are a worldwide pest of stored products, particularly food grains, and a model organism for ethological and food safety research.
Rhyzopertha is a monotypic genus of beetles in the family Bostrichidae, the false powderpost beetles. The sole species, Rhyzopertha dominica, is known commonly as the lesser grain borer, American wheat weevil, Australian wheat weevil, and stored grain borer. It is a beetle commonly found within store bought products and pest of stored cereal grains located worldwide. It is also a major pest of peanuts. The first documentation of wheat infestation by R. dominica was observed in Australia. R. dominica are usually reddish brown to dark brown in coloration, vary in sizes, elongated and cylindrical.
Laemophloeidae, "lined flat bark beetles," is a family in the superfamily Cucujoidea characterized by predominantly dorso-ventrally compressed bodies, head and pronotal discs bordered by ridges or grooves, and inverted male genitalia. Size range of adults is 1–5 mm (0.04–0.2 in) in length. Currently, it contains 40 genera and about 450 species, and is represented on all continents except Antarctica; species richness is greatest in the tropics.
A Berlese funnel or Berlese trap is a device used to extract desiccation-intolerant invertebrates from samples of soil or leaf litter. It works by creating a desiccation gradient over the sample such that mobile organisms will move away from the dry environment and fall into a collecting vessel, where they are preserved for examination.
Anthrenocerus australis is a species of beetle belonging to the Dermestidae family. It is commonly known as the Australian carpet beetle and is one of the most researched of the thirty-one species in the Anthrenocerus genus. This is generally attributed to its prevalence throughout Australia and New Zealand and the negative economic and agricultural impact it has as a pest. It is the larvae that causes damage to products, not the adult beetle. The total life cycle of this insect is around three years, most of which is spent as a larva. Once the beetle reaches maturity, it only lives for between two and six weeks.
Acarophenacidae is a family of mites in the order Trombidiformes that are egg parasitoids and ectoparasites of beetles or thrips. It contains eight genera and around 40 species.
Alphitobius diaperinus is a species of beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, the darkling beetles. It is known commonly as the lesser mealworm and the litter beetle. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring nearly worldwide. It is known widely as a pest insect of stored food grain products such as flour, and of poultry-rearing facilities and it is a vector of many kinds of animal pathogens. In larval form, it is an approved novel food in the European Union, and also used as animal feed.
Tribolium is a genus of flour beetles in the family Tenebrionidae. They are known by various common names including flour beetles, flour weevils, red weevils and bran bugs.
Cryptolestes pusillus is a species of lined flat bark beetle native to Europe. It is also known as the flat grain beetle. It feeds on grain products, and is considered a pest in Canada.
