TY - JOUR UR - https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3506 DO - 10.7717/peerj.3506 TI - Use of necrophagous insects as evidence of cadaver relocation: myth or reality? AU - Charabidze,Damien AU - Gosselin,Matthias AU - Hedouin,Valéry A2 - Negri,Ilaria DA - 2017/08/01 PY - 2017 KW - Blow flies KW - Larvae KW - Forensic entomology KW - Necrophagous KW - Biotope KW - Taphonomy KW - Forensic pathology KW - Crime scene investigation AB - The use of insects as indicators of post-mortem displacement is discussed in many texts, courses and TV shows, and several studies addressing this issue have been published. Although the concept is widely cited, it is poorly understood, and only a few forensic cases have successfully applied such a method. The use of necrophagous insects as evidence of cadaver relocation actually involves a wide range of biological aspects. Distribution, microhabitat, phenology, behavioral ecology, and molecular analysis are among the research areas associated with this topic. This article provides the first review of the current knowledge and addresses the potential and limitations of different methods to evaluate their applicability. This work reveals numerous weaknesses and erroneous beliefs as well as many possibilities and research opportunities. VL - 5 SP - e3506 T2 - PeerJ JO - PeerJ J2 - PeerJ SN - 2167-8359 ER -