Forensic entomology is a branch of applied entomology that uses insects and other arthropods as a basis for legal evidence. Insects may be found on cadavers or elsewhere around crime scenes in the interest of forensic science. Forensic entomology is also used in cases of neglect and abuse of a property, as well as subjects of a toxicology analysis to detect drugs and incidents of food contamination. Therefore, forensic entomology is divided into three subfields: medico-legal/medico-criminal entomology, urban, and stored-product.
The field revolves around studying the types of insects commonly found in and on the place of interest (such as cadavers), their life cycles, their presence in different environments, and how insect assemblages change with the progression of decomposition (the proc...
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Blowflies of medicinal use.jpg
These are pinned blowflies which are relevant in forensic entomology, provided by Jens Amendt for th...
Decomposition01.jpg
Blowflies and flies on fresh corpse of South African Porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustralis), Honeydew,...
Example of a pig carcass in the active decay stage of decomposition.jpg
Example of a pig carcass (Sus scrofa) in the active decay stage of decomposition. Notice the extens...
Example of a pig carcass in the bloat stage of decomposition.jpg
Example of a pig carcass (Sus scrofa) in the bloat stage of decomposition.
Example of a pig carcass in the dry decay stage of decomposition.jpg
Example of a pig carcass (Sus scrofa) in the dry/remains stage of decomposition. All that remains i...
Example of a pig carcass in the fresh stage of decomposition.jpg
Example of a pig carcass (Sus scrofa) in the fresh stage of decomposition
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Postmortem interval changes (stages of death).png
Postmortem interval changes (stages of death). Stages and intervals are approximate, and may be subs...
Rove Beetle. Staphylinidae - Flickr - gailhampshire (1).jpg
Rove Beetle. Staphylinidae
Stomoxys-stable-fly-life-cycle-2.jpg
Photograph of parasitic insects of domestic animals
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Hillger, P., Jain, R., Grzyb, J., Mavarani, L., Bücher, T., Pfeiffer, U. R., ... & Guillet, J. P...
Sarcophaga nodosa.jpg
A flesh fly, probably Sarcophaga nodosa feeding on decaying flesh. Pictured in Dar es Salaam, Tanzan...