Coffin Fly Conicera Tibialis (Diptera: Phoridae) Breeding on Buried Human Remains After a Postmortem Interval of 18 Years

• NCJ Number: 236905
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 56 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2011 Pages: 1654-1656
• Author(s): Daniel Martin-Vega, M.Sc.; Aida Gomez-Gomez, M.Sc.; Arturo Baz, Ph.D.
• Date Published: November 2011
• Length: 3 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research); Case Study
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The present report describes the presence of a large amount of individuals of C. tibialis inside the coffin of a buried human corpse exhumed 18 years after death in central Spain.

Abstract

The "coffin fly," Conicera tibialis Schmitz (Order: Diptera, Family: Phoridae), is well known for its frequent occurrence on buried corpses, in some cases after postmortem intervals of even 3-5 years. The present report describes the presence of a large amount of individuals of C. tibialis inside the coffin of a buried human corpse exhumed 18 years after death in central Spain. Adults, some of them newly emerged, and empty puparia were found in connection with the remains. Such postmortem interval is significantly longer than previously known for this species and raises the question on the current state of knowledge about the use of insects for estimating the postmortem interval in old, buried remains. (Published Abstract)