Entomologie médico-légale appliquée à un cas de momification
Auteurs : Bourel (Benoît), Gosset (Didier), Hédouin (Valéry) et Hubert (Nicolas)
Année de publication : 2000
Publication : Annales de la Société entomologique de France
Volume :
(N. S.), 36
Fascicule : 3
Pagination : 287-290
Résumé :
The recovery of natural mummies is always a rare event in forensic practice because it is highly dependant on climatic conditions and necrophagous insects activity. The entomofauna associated with natural mummies is very specific and is composed of household pests of animal products. We present the case of a mummified human corpse, discovered one year and two months after death. The corpse was discovered in a closed flat and was consequently protected against the activity of the most active necrophagous insects (Calliphoridae, Muscidae, Sarcophagidae). Numerous individuals of three species of forensic interest insects at various stages of development were sampled on the cadaver. Two of them were household insects : Tineola bisselliella Hummel (Lepidoptera, Tineidae), and Anthrenocerus australis Hope (Coleoptera, Dermestidae), which were naturally present in the flat and colonized the corpse when it reached the suitable stage of dessication. It is the first time that A. australis was observed and sampled on an human cadaver. The third species was a Phoridae (Diptera) : Megaselia sp., a small fly having succeeded to penetrate into the flat from outdoors