Abstract:
Research needs to establish forensic entomology as an important technique to add in crime scene investigation in Ecuador are presented. Because Ecuador is a tropical megabiodiverse country with significant variation in habitat throughout the country, the first step is an inventory of insects with potential importance in medicolegal investigations. These investigations must be conducted in a variety of habitats, sub-habitats and times of year. The cooperation of the police to determine sites where cadavers are frequently found will be essential in setting priorities for these studies. This should be followed with experimental studies using pig carcasses in controlled field situations to document the continuum of insect infestation of cadavers. This can be supplemented detailed observation of actual crime scenes with the cooperation of the police and prosecutors. These studies will need to be supported with controlled laboratory experiments with the principal insect species identified during the inventory to determine growth rates under defined temperature conditions. These experiments are crucial to develop a database to determine postmortem interval in the investigations of crime scenes. After this basic data has been obtained, it will be possible to refine these studies with laboratory and field experiments that investigate the effect of different wound types, presence or absence of clothing, location of cadavers inside structures or outside and the impact of recreational drugs on fly larvae development. The development of forensic entomology in Ecuador should be viewed as a continuing collaboration between scientists, crime scene investigators, police, prosecutors, the judiciary and the legal community. Forensic entomology has the potential to significantly assist the investigation of crimes and prosecution of criminals in Ecuador.
