How to translate text using browser tools
1 November 2011 Cadaver Wrapping and Arrival Performance of Adult Flies in an Oil Palm Plantation in Northern Peninsular Malaysia
Azwani Ahmad, Abu Hassan Ahmad, Hamady Dieng, Tomomitsu Satho, Hamdan Ahmad, Al Thbyani Aziz, Michael Boots
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

There is accumulating evidence that criminals wrap dead bodies in an attempt to conceal evidence. To anticipate the forensic implications of this phenomenon, we examined whether flies that are naturally associated with cadavers exhibit a delay in attendance or differ in species composition and abundance patterns because of the presence of wrapping material. Wrapped and exposed carcasses of dead monkeys placed in an oil plantation in Kedah, Malaysia, were visited over 50 d. On daily visits to each of the six carcasses, visiting adult flies were sampled using hand nets. Flies of 12 families were encountered. Calliphoridae (Chrysomya rufifacies Macquart and C. megacephala (F.) was the most prevalent family, followed by Sphaeroceridae. Some families tended to be more abundant in WRCs (i.e., Calliphoridae, Muscidae, and Phoridae), whereas others (i.e., Piophilidae, Sepsidae, and Psychodidae) were more prevalent in exposed carcasses. Wrapping delayed the arrival of all fly species encountered, with delays varying from 1 to 13 d depending on species. Wrapping did not affect species composition of flies, but prolong the occurrence of some species. The results of the current study emphasize the need to take into consideration the presence of a wrap when estimating postmortem interval.

© 2011 Entomological Society of America
Azwani Ahmad, Abu Hassan Ahmad, Hamady Dieng, Tomomitsu Satho, Hamdan Ahmad, Al Thbyani Aziz, and Michael Boots "Cadaver Wrapping and Arrival Performance of Adult Flies in an Oil Palm Plantation in Northern Peninsular Malaysia," Journal of Medical Entomology 48(6), 1236-1246, (1 November 2011). https://doi.org/10.1603/ME10247
Received: 13 November 2010; Accepted: 1 August 2011; Published: 1 November 2011
JOURNAL ARTICLE
11 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
colonization
flies
monkey carcass
oil palm plantation
wrapping
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top