Species Composition and Succession of Necrophagous Insects on Small Buried Baits in China

Abstract

The postburial interval (PBI) can be inferred by using necrophagous insects colonizing the buried corpse. In different seasons, the species composition and succession of necrophagous insects on swine carrion (0.5-0.75 kg) buried at the depths of 30 cm and 60 cm in a Populus alba var. pyramidalis (Bunge, 1854) (Salicales: Salicaceae) grove of Shenyang, China from 2017 to 2019 were investigated. A total of 21 species of necrophagous insects belonging to 5 orders, 17 families were collected. Among them, the species of Phoridae and Platystomatidae were dominant at burial depth of 30 cm and 60 cm in summer and autumn. The species composition and time of colonization of necrophagous insects on the buried baits varied with seasons. Platystoma mandschuricum (Enderlein, 1937) (Diptera: Platystomatidae) and Aleochara puberula (Klug, 1833) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), the first arriving insects in spring, occurred on the baits for the longest time, from early June to early December. This work could provide reference data for the PBI estimation in Shenyang and similar geographical areas.