Abstract

LIRIA SALAZAR, Jonathan. Insectos de importancia forense en cadáveres de ratas, Carabobo - Venezuela. Rev. perú. med. exp. salud publica [online]. 2006, vol.23, n.1, pp.33-38. ISSN 1726-4634.

Objectives: To determine the composition of entomological fauna associated to rat carcass, in that allows to establish the species of forensic importance in Carabobo, Venezuela. Materials and methods: Insects were studied in nine carcasses of laboratory rats’. Every day each rat (carcass and trays with soil substrate) was picked up in order to obtain associated fauna. With the abundance data indexes of diversity and evenness were calculated, and the principal component analysis was used. Results: 13 590 insects were collected; 14,8% from the carcasses and 85,2% from the trays. Diptera were the most abundant insects (94,2%), followed by Coleoptera and Hymenoptera. Most important Diptera species were: Calliphoridae: Lucilia cluvia (Walker), Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann), and C. megacephala (Fabricius), and Muscidae: Musca domestica Linnaeus. Some Coleoptera were found, such as Dermestes ater DeGeer (Dermestidae), and Staphylinidae. Conclusions: Evenness and diversity were low, because the greater species abundance, and the poor sensitivity of diversity indexes was due to the presence of unusual species. Species succession was also observed; L. cluvia was found during the first days, followed by C. albiceps and C. megacephala. We recommend continuing with this type of studies, so they may be used as a tool in forensic medicine practice in Venezuela.

Keywords : Forensic entomology; Legal Medicine; Calliphoridae; Chrysominae; diversity.

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