Unit 2

Unit 2
Insects Morphology, Life cycle, development stages, classification and identification of different
order of insects
• Forensic entomology is the study of the application of
insects and other arthropods in a criminal
investigation.
• Insects or arthropods are found in the decomposing
vertebrate of corpses or carrion. These insect colonizers
can be used to estimate the time of death i.e., the time
interval between death and corpse discovery also called
postmortem index(PMI), movement of the corpse,
manner and cause of death and association of suspects
at the death.
Classification
• Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
• Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
• Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
• Class Insecta (Insects)
• Order Diptera (Flies)
• Superfamily Oestroidea
• Family Calliphoridae (Blow Flies)
Beetles
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Subclass: Pterygota
Infraclass: Neoptera
Superorder: Endopterygota
Order: Coleoptera
Mantids
• Scientific name: Insecta
• Class: Insecta; Linnaeus, 1758
• Domain: Eukaryota
• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Arthropoda
• Order-: Mantodea
Blow Flies
• Blowflies, also known as bluebottles, greenbottles, or
screwworms, are part of the Calliphoridae family of
the Diptera order, or insects with two wings. Blowflies
are similar to house flies, but they are larger. Blowflies
can be green, blue, copper, or purple in color. Blowflies
thrive in warm, humid weather and do not do well in
windy, extremely dry, extremely hot, or cold weather.
Blow Flies
• The blowflies belong to the Calliphoridae family and are also
called scavenger flies. They are similar in appearance to the
commonly found houseflies.
• However, they are a little larger, have a big head and bulging
eyes, and adult blowflies have a metallic appearance and might
be blue, black, or green. These flies have almost similar feeding
and breeding habits to house flies. The larvae of blowflies are
known as maggots and have a tiny pale-worm-like look.
• Blowflies do not bite humans but feed on decaying matter, wet
garbage, rotten food, and decaying meat scraps. They flourish
best in places having warm and humid environments.
Life cycle and development
• Blowfly Eggs Laying Stages-Female blowflies lay up to 150-
200 eggs per batch. From laying eggs to hatching, the entire
process takes around one day.
• Larva - 1st Phase: The larvae feed on the body fluid and travel
into the body. This stage takes around one day to complete.
• Larva - 2nd Phase: In this stage, larvae roam around in worm
form. A transition from the first stage to this is achieved in
around two day.
Continue
• Larva - 3rd Phase: The larvae still roam around in masses but are highly
increased in size at this stage. It is a pre-pupa stage and takes approximately
four to five days to reach.
• Pre-Pupa: The pre-pupae move away from the body they were feeding to an
appropriate pupation place, generally soil. They now get transformed into a
pupa, and it takes around four days to reach from pre-pupa to pupa form.
• Pupa: The pupae keep residing in the pupation site and transforms into adult
flies. This development from pupa to adult fly takes around ten days to
complete. Till this stage, from the time they moved to the pupation site, they
do not feed.
• Adult Fly: The adult flies mate on emerging from the pupa feeds on body
fluids’ proteins, and lay eggs on the dead body. Emerging as an adult fly to
laying eggs takes around two days.
• Note: The development times mentioned here are generalized. Depending on
the species and the temperature of the surroundings, they might increase or
Physical Distinctive Features
• The main feeding stage of the fly is the larva stage. After
hatching, the length of the larva is about 2mm, which grows to
about 5mm before it sheds its skin to enter the second stage. It
becomes about 10mm in length before shedding its skin to
enter the third stage, where it grows to around 15mm-20mm
before reaching the pre-pupa stage.
• There is little distinction between the overall appearance of fly
larva at different stages. The structure of the posterior spiracles
through which the larva respires is used to identify larva of
different stages.
Eating Habits
• A fly larva is an eating machine. It has mouth hooks at
the front end, which it uses to feed on decaying shredded
flesh from the corpse. The anus and posterior spiracles
are located in the chamber at the rear end. These
spiracles assist the larva in breathing. Also, the position
of the spiracles helps it to breathe, feeding throughout
the day.
• Larva has a muscular and segmented body that helps it
easily turn on the corpse. And the presence of a simple
intestine and a pair of large salivary glands help it in
secreting digestive enzymes and spreading putrefying
bacteria creating a soupy surrounding.
Intense Digestive Activities
• The larva or maggot roams around in masses. The

intense nature of its digestive activities results in
immense heat generation. The body lying in the vicinity
of the mass might get heat up to a high temperature,
sometimes around 53 degrees Celsius.
• Also, sometimes intense heat gets generated inside the
mass that the larvae present in the center have to move
to the edges to cool down. This heat increases the rate
of digestion and putrefaction.
• Studying the blowfly life cycle is a great forensic investigation
tool to calculate the time of death. However, it is not an easy
process.
• Several factors like temperature need to be considered during
specimen collection by the investigators.
• A dead body lying outside during the summer months for many
days, the temperature surrounding the body can change severely.
• Also, there are types of blowflies that develop faster in hot
weather conditions than in the cold.
• An entomologist must carefully observe the variations in the
growth cycles in the specimen to identify a standard range.
Beetle life cycle
• A beetle remains as an egg for 7 to 10 days before
hatching into the second form, the larva. This is the
body form responsible for the "worm" part of the name
mealworm.
• They are very tiny when they first hatch, and it takes
them about 3 months before they enter the next body
form. During this time, the larvae eat and eat and grow.
However, to grow, they must shed their skin every so
often. Right after they molt, their skin is white and soft,
which allows the animal to grow before their skins
hardens and turns tan again in a day or two.
• Larvae molt about 15 times and can get very big.
• When a larva has eaten enough food and grows big
enough, it pupates into the third body form, the pupa.
While in this form, the beetle does not eat or move very
much. The pupa just sits and waits while its insides
rearrange into the form needed for the fourth and final
body stage. The pupal stage lasts for 7 to 10 days, and
finally the pupa ecloses and becomes an adult.
Mantids
• The mantis life cycle stages are egg, nymph, and adult.
• Hatching can take 2 to 8 weeks at optimal temperatures. Each egg case can have 10–150 nymphs
that will emerge all at once. Mortality is high in the early stages of development and during the
molting process.
• Juvenile mantids are called nymphs. Praying mantises change a bit as they
grow and molt (change their “skin” or exoskeleton) 5-10 times before getting
to the adult stage. They start as small wingless nymphs and become quite a
bit larger after several molts.
• Praying mantis nymphs typically spend several weeks to a few months in this
stage, during which they undergo multiple molts as they grow and develop.
• Once a praying mantis has reached adulthood, some species grow wings.
They mate at some point (and sometimes the female mantises end up eating
the male!) and then soon after, they die. The life cycle of a praying
mantis starts over again with their young.
Steps to Estimate The Postmortem Index With
Insect Larva
• The insect larva present on the dead body can provide

evidence for the estimation of PMI for up to one month.
• Correct species identification is the initial step.
• For estimating the PMI, the age of the larva has to be
determined.
• By measuring the length or dry weight of the oldest
larva and comparing it with reference data, the age of
the larva can be estimated.
• The rate of development of the larva is dependent on
surrounding ambient temperature.
• Each stage of development has its temperature
requirement hence each species has its own defined
number of accumulated degree hours to complete its
development.
• Once the thermal history of the larva is obtained, it can
be compared with temperatures at the death scene and
PMI can be estimated. The first-generation adult flies can
also be used to determine their age.
• When the insect colonizing the carrion in a particular area
is known, an insect colonizing succession model can also
be used to estimate the PMI.
Factors that affects growth rate of insects are:
• 1) Temperature: Higher the temperature, faster the insect will grow

and develop into an adult.
• 2) Food Quality: Eating rich, nutritious food help larvae grow faster.
• 3) Oxygen Levels: Increasing oxygen concentration increases growth
rate of insects.
• 4) Day Length/Season: Many insects co-ordinate their developmental
cycles with the seasons.

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Unit 2

• The larva or maggot roams around in masses. The

• The insect larva present on the dead body can provide

• 1) Temperature: Higher the temperature, faster the insect will grow

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