Dermestes ( s.str. ) haemorrhoidalis (Coleoptera: Dermestidae)-The Most Frequent Species on Mummified Human Corpses in Indoor Conditions? Three Cases from Southwestern Poland

• Published in: Insects (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 23
• Main Authors: Kadej, Marcin, Szleszkowski, Łukasz, Thannhäuser, Agata, Jurek, Tomasz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 25-12-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Autopsies; Beetles; Biology; Bones; Cadavers; Coleoptera; Decomposition; Dermestes; Dermestidae; Economic importance; Entomology; forensic entomology; Forensic science; Fractures; Human remains; Identification; indoor; Insects; larder beetles; mummification; Orthopedics; Rare species; Soft tissues; Poland; Europe; Japan; Dermestes; indoor; forensic entomology; mummification; larder beetles
• ISSN: 2075-4450; 2075-4450
• DOI: 10.3390/insects14010023

Beetles of the family Dermestidae, especially of the genus
Linnaeus, 1758, are often identified on corpses in late stages of decomposition. They usually feed on remains devoid of organs and soft tissues or when the corpses undergo mummification. In Europe, eight species from two subgenera
and
Zhantiev, 1967, have so far been identified on human corpses. Despite the relatively frequent presence of
sp. in experimental studies conducted in Poland, no reports concerning
directly collected from human corpses have been published to date. This article again describes observations of Dermestidae collected from human corpses found in indoor conditions in Wrocław, the capital of the Dolnośląskie Voivodeship. For the second time, there is evidence of the presence of
(
)
on human corpses-a species considered to be relatively rare, as evidenced by faunistic data published from Poland, as well as the results of ongoing experiments of forensic interest.