Research Progress on Developmental Biology of Sarcosaprophagous Insects

Abstract

Forensic entomology provides a feasible way to estimate postmortem interval （PMI）, of which the growth and development of sarcosaprophagous insects is the most widely used indicator in forensic practice. Over the years, forensic entomologists have carried out a large number of studies on the development biology of sarcosaprophagous insects. This paper illustrates the main factors that affect the development of sarcosaprophagous insects, including temperature, humidity, light, food types and poisons. The development indicators of sarcosaprophagous insects were reviewed from the perspectives of morphology, differential gene expression and biochemical characteristics. It is emphasized that future research of development biology on sarcosaprophagous insects should fully absorb and integrate the methods of artificial intelligence and omics, and the research object also needs further expansion in order to establish a more objective and more accurate PMI estimation method.

Keywords

• forensic pathology
• forensic entomology
• developmental biology
• sarcosaprophagous insects
• postmortem interval
• review