Diversity of Forensically Important Insects in Sabah

Abstract

Diversity of forensically important insects were documented from two experiments using a monkey (long-tailed macaque, Macacafascicularis Raffles) and a pig (Susscrofa L.) carcasses. The experiments were conducted in shrub area of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Kota Kinabalu and in rural area of Menggatal district, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah respectively. Records were made daily on insects visiting the carcasses, the environmental temperatures and relative humidity.Blowflies, Chysomyamegacephala (Fabricius), Chrysomyarufifacies (Macquart) and Sarcophagabrevicornis (Ho) were the earliest species to be recorded in both studies. Other species of flies recorded from both carcases include Luciliacuprina (Wiedemann), Hydroteaspinigera (Stein), Muscadomestica (Linnaeus) and Fannia spp. Additional species observed on pig carcass were Hypopygiopsisviolacea (Macquart), Stomorhina sp.(Rondani) and beetles, Diamesusosculans (Vigors) (Coleptera: Silphidae). Information from this study provides important base data on the local carrion fauna which help to improve the post mortem interval determination in local forensic cases.