ABSTRACT
An initially premortem maggot infestation of a corpse has been inferred based in part on an estimate of maggot age greater than the pathologist’s postmortem interval estimate. The most common forensic entomological application is to estimate the time of death. Forensic entomologists rely on two types of entomological clock. The first is the development of an individual insect, and the extent of development is used to estimate that individual’s age. The second is the change in carrion insect species composition over time, a kind of ecological succession. Carrion insect development and succession rate can be influenced by many factors. Often the entomologist does not personally collect the insect specimens or visit the scene. Consequently, the quality of information about corpse conditions, the carrion insect population, and the manner of sample collection/storage varies widely and can be less than ideal. Alternatively, scene conditions may be known, but are very different from any training experiment.
