Welcome to the new website
of the European Association for Forensic Entomology!
Not everything is final yet, and there will be regular updates and changes in the coming weeks and months. Please check back often and stay tuned!
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Forensic
Entomology
About EAFE
The aim of European Association for Forensic Entomology is to promote the development of forensic entomology throughout Europe and to encourage co-operation with other similar international bodies.
Objective 1: to promote recognition of forensic entomology as an important component of the criminal justice system.
Objective 2: to exchange ideas and information within the field of forensic entomology and to foster friendship and co-operation among the various laboratories.
Objective 3: to encourage a high level of competency in the field of forensic entomology.
Objective 4: to establish common practices and to promote and maintain the highest standards of practice in applied and basic forensic entomology.
Objective 5: to stimulate implementation of existing techniques together with research and development of new techniques in forensic entomology.
Project 1: NATURAL TRACES is a MSCA Doctoral Network
The project aims to train the next generation of forensic scientists for non-human, biological trace evidence analysis via an international, cross-sectorial and unparalleled new network linking academia, state forensic laboratories, scientific police forces, taphonomic facilities, and private companies. The research programme will advance the sampling and evaluation of biological evidence from crime scenes in many important biological disciplines. The consortium is represented by 10 beneficiaries plus 1 one employing associated partner, as well as several academic associated partners and companies associated to beneficiaries. The DC in Forensic Entomology is based at the Goethe University in Frankfurt (Jens Amendt) and is supervised from there together with the Copernicus University in Torun (Krzysztof Szpila). The aim is to identify the empty puparia and their fragments of forensically important fly species and to determine the age of these remains using GC-MS and FTIR spectroscopy.
Project 2: Thermogenesis, feeding matrix and parental care in carrion beetle Necrodes littoralis
The project focuses on thermogenesis in the feeding matrix formed on carrion by Necrodes littoralis L. beetles (Silphidae). The feeding matrix is a complex microenvironment that is formed at the interface between the beetles and carrion tissues. It has been hypothesized that the matrix facilitates digestion, suppresses meat decay, masks carrion from other carrion insects or hosts beneficial microbes. Our recent study of Necrodes beetles revealed that the matrix also produces heat. With this project, we will investigate spatio-temporal patterns of thermogenesis in the matrix, its determinants and mechanisms as well as the influence of the matrix and its heat on the fitness of the beetles. Apart from important implications in the fields of insect.
Research project financed by the National Science Centre of Poland „Thermogenesis, feeding matrix and parental care in carrion beetle Necrodes littoralis L. (Silphidae): spatio-temporal patterns, determinants, mechanisms and fitness effects of heat production in the matrix” (2021/41/B/NZ8/00474), principal investigator: Szymon Matuszewski.
Project 3: Think global, grow local - Are there local adaptations in the developmental rate of necrophagous flies?
- Data Collection & Modeling: Gathering extensive developmental data across a range of temperatures from various European populations and developing both global and region-specific models.
- Model Validation: Cross-validating linear and non-linear models using independent laboratory (ex situ) and field (in situ) data to ensure accuracy and consistency.
- Climatic Correlation: Integrating developmental parameters with spatial climatic data to predict how temperature variations affect blowfly development across Europe.
Publications
Below we present selected publications of our members
Int J Legal Med. doi: 10.1007/s00414-006-0086-x
Best practice in forensic entomology—standards and guidelines. J Amendt, CP Campobasso, E Gaudry, C Reiter, HN LeBlanc, M JR Hall. International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2007, 121, 90-104.
Forensic Sci Int doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2008.06.015
An initial study of insect succession and carrion decomposition in various forest habitats of Central Europe. S Matuszewski, D Bajerlein, S Konwerski, K Szpila. Forensic Science International, 2008, 180 (2-3), 61-69.
Med Vet Entomol doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2915.2006.00600.x.
Larval growth rates of the blowfly, Calliphora vicina, over a range of temperatures. SE Donovan, MJR Hall, BD Turner, CB Moncrieff. Medical and veterinary entomology, 2006, 20 (1), 106-114.
Int J Legal Med DOI: 10.1007/s00414-019-02074-5
Pigs vs people: the use of pigs as analogues for humans in forensic entomology and taphonomy research. Matuszewski S., Hall MJR, Moreau G, Schoenly KG, Tarone AM, Villet MH. International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2020, 134: 793-810.
Int J Legal Med doi: 10.1007/s00414-021-02628-6
It is all about the insects: a retrospective on 20 years of forensic entomology highlights the importance of insects in legal investigations. Lutz L, Zehner R, Verhoff MA, Bratzke H, Amendt J. International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2021, 135(6):2637-2651