Knowledge of insects can be used to resolve a variety of issues that are litigated in the courtroom. A common use of entomology applied to the medico-legal field, traditionally, provides temporal information to death investigations and sometimes the location of death. The synergy of the entomology with toxicology may be very useful to resolve problems related to the cause of the death. Genetics can be used to help identify insect specimens, especially when immature stages are difficult to identify by morphology, but vertebrate DNA derived from insects can also be used to identify humans (victims or offenders in according to the evidences and the crime scenes). In this chapter, we discuss basic medical–legal entomology, the most common involved insects, their behaviors, and potential uses of entomology in investigations.
Forensic Entomology: The Utility of Insects at Court and in Human Identification
Lambiase, Simonetta
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2021-01-01
Abstract
Knowledge of insects can be used to resolve a variety of issues that are litigated in the courtroom. A common use of entomology applied to the medico-legal field, traditionally, provides temporal information to death investigations and sometimes the location of death. The synergy of the entomology with toxicology may be very useful to resolve problems related to the cause of the death. Genetics can be used to help identify insect specimens, especially when immature stages are difficult to identify by morphology, but vertebrate DNA derived from insects can also be used to identify humans (victims or offenders in according to the evidences and the crime scenes). In this chapter, we discuss basic medical–legal entomology, the most common involved insects, their behaviors, and potential uses of entomology in investigations.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
