ISSN: 0022-1198
Page Count: 12

Insect Succession on Buried Carrion in Two Biogeoclimatic Zones of British Columbia
Anderson, GS
Assistant Professor, School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, B.C.

VanLaerhoven, SL
Ph.D. candidate, University of Arkansas, AR

(Received 3 February 1998; accepted 15 June 1998)

Abstract

We established a database of insect succession on buried carrion in two biogeoclimatic zones of British Columbia over a 16-month period beginning June 1995. Pig (Sus scrofa L.) carcasses were buried shortly after death in the Coastal Western Hemlock and Sub-boreal Spruce biogeoclimatic zones of British Columbia. Buried pigs exhibited a distinct pattern of succession from that which occurred on above-ground carrion. The species composition and time of colonization for particular species differed between the two zones. Therefore ideally, a database of insect succession on burried carrion should be established for each major biogeoclimatic zone. We did not observe maggot masses on any of the buried carcasses; therefore, the presence of maggot masses may indicate a delayed burial. Soil temperature was a better indicator of internal buried carcass temperature (r² = 0.92, p < 0.0001) than was ambient air temperature (r² = 0.60, p < 0.0001); thus soil temperature should be used to determine developmental rates of insects for determination of the postmortem interval by a forensic entomologist.

Keywords:
forensic science, forensic pathology, pig, British Columbia, forensic entomology, grave fauna, burial

Paper ID: JFS14409J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS14409J
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