Forensic entomologists use blow fly development to estimate a postmortem interval. Although accurate, fly age estimates can be imprecise for older developmental stages and no standard means of assigning confidence intervals exists. Presented here is a method for modeling growth of the forensically important blow fly Lucilia sericata, using generalized additive models (GAMs). Eighteen GAMs were ...

Carrion insect succession studies have historically used repeated sampling of single or a few carcasses to produce data, either weighing the carcasses, removing a qualitative subsample of the fauna present, or both, on every visit over the course of decomposition and succession. This study, conducted in a set of related experimental hypotheses with two trials in a single season, investigated th...

1. This document was originally published as Circular 1295 by the Office of Agricultural Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This document is ENY-275 (IN081), one of a series of the Entomology and Nematology Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. First published: June 1995. Revised: June 2005. Pl...

1. This document is ENY-277 (orginally published in Alternatives in Insect Management by the Office of Agricultural Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), one of a series of the Entomology and Nematology Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. First published: June 1995. Revised: June 2005. Please v...

Forensic science has recently gained a high profile worldwide, owing in part to publicity surrounding criminal cases in which advanced methods have been used to determine guilt or innocence, sometimes even overturning previous verdicts. In particular, advances in DNA sampling and testing have spawned powerful methods that police investigators increasingly rely on in serious crime cases. As DNA ...