FREE online courses on the Basics to Forensic Entomology - Analyzing the
crime scene - Collecting specimens before body removal
A passive technique for collecting adult insects at the crime
scene is by using sticky traps with a slow drying adhesive substance. These
traps are made from waxed cardboards with a pup tent configuration set at a
approximately 60 degree angle with sticky material on both exposed sides. This
trap will collect many insects in a few minutes. An insect net can be used to
collect flying insects. Eggs, larvae, pupae and adults of insects on the surface
of the human remains should be collected and preserved to show the state of the
entomological data at the time of discovery.
Insects within the body should not be collected before the
autopsy. If there is enough insects, samples of egg, larvae and pupae should be
collected alive and placed on a rearing medium such as raw beef liver. Rearing
to the adult stage makes identification easier, and may give vital clues to the
PMI estimation. It is important that the temperature in the rearing container is
as constant as possible, in the range of 20-27 degrees Celsius. It is absolutely
necessary that the temperature is recorded in the rearing container.
