VANIN S.

In the last century, several approaches and techniques have been used for human identification: from macroscopic (anthropological studies) to microscopic (fingerprints) and molecular (DNA characterization) analyses. In the last decades, other disciplines like entomology and botany have provided important information suitable for human...

Despite the wide usage of animals as models in forensic studies, the investigations of fundamental legal questions involving domesticated and nondomesticated animals were always given marginal attention compared to "human forensic," and only recently the interest in the discipline is increasing. Our research focuses on the effect of the fur...

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Background: A correct identification of species is fundamental in order to derive all the biological, ecological, and behavioral information useful to reconstruct previous events when insects are used in forensic and funerary archaeological contexts. Little attention was paid in the past to the description of the immature stages of flies,...

Forensic entomology establishes the postmortem interval (PMI) by studying cadaveric fauna. The PMI today is still largely based on tables of insect succession on human cadavers compiled in the late 19th- or mid-20th centuries. In the last few years, however, the gradual warming of the climate has been changing faunal communities by favouring...

In medicolegal forensic entomology, the estimation of the minimum postmortem interval and any other evaluation depend on the accuracy of the species identification. Although the most common species received a lot of attention in the last years, other species in less common families still remain poorly investigated and sometimes the immature...

Species identification is a crucial step in forensic entomology. In several cases the calculation of the larval age allows the estimation of the minimum Post-Mortem Interval (mPMI). A correct identification of the species is the first step for a correct mPMI estimation. To overcome the difficulties due to the morphological identification...

In Forensic Entomology the estimation of the age of insects is used for the estimation of the minimum postmortem interval. As insect development is temperature dependent and species specific, a correct species identification is therefore fundamental. In the majority of cases the molecular identification is based on a destructive approach.In...

Flies and beetles are the main components of the entomofauna colonizing a body after death. Following the recognition of constant and predictable colonization patterns and the knowledge about the dependence of the insect development to temperature, a new discipline, forensic entomology, has provided information useful to reconstruct criminal...

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The order Palpigradi includes species characterized by millimetric size and a characteristic flagellum with bristles at the end of the opisthosoma. They represent one of the less well-known and obscure arachnidorders. In this paper, observations were made on the ecology and feeding behavior of species belonging tothe genus Eukoenenia Börner,...

Correct species identification is the cornerstone of all scientific studies that involve insects. Alongside traditional morphological identification techniques, molecular identification based on the characterization and analysis of specific mitochondrial or nuclear gene regions is becoming commonplace. Despite the good results that can be...

Archaeoentomology is a branch of environmental archaeology focusing on insects and other arthropods contributing, with other disciplines, to reconstruct a more complete view of past events, climate and landscape. Funerary archaeoentomology focuses on the arthropods associated with human remains or with elements part of funerary rituals such as...

Myiases are caused by the presence of maggots in vertebrate tissues and organs. Myiases have been studied widely in humans, farm animals, and pets, whereas reports of myiasis in reptiles are scarce. We describe a case of myiasis caused by the Megaselia scalaris (Loew) in an Indian python (Python molurus bivittatus, Kuhl) (Ophida: Boidae). The...

The knowledge of the fauna associated with carrions and cadavers for a specific region plays a fundamental role in the estimation of the time since death in forensic cases. In the last years global warming and globalization have affected the insect species distribution. This phenomenon is affecting also the species of forensic interest...

In most countries, forensic age estimation in living subjects has become increasingly important in the last few years. In addition, as the age of legal majority ranges from 14 to 18 in many countries, and in Libya it is 18 years, radiographic assessment of the degree of third molar development is essential for forensic age estimation of...

Deliberate falsification of age was considered to be one of the main reasons for forensic age estimation of the living individuals. This posed to be a challenging task during criminal and legal proceedings, and ultimate care must be taken not to classify juveniles as adults. Third molars are the only developing teeth during late adolescence and...

In this study, the ability of H. illucens larvae (black soldier fly (BSF)) to metabolise different semisolid biowastes (e.g. kitchen waste, animal manure) has been applied to the treatment of landfill leachate. A testing programme has been developed by mixing leachate with three different solid supports: wheat bran, a biodegradable nutrient...

Funerary archaeoentomology entails the study of insects from archaeological contexts, in order to examine funerary practices, thanatology and hygiene/sanitation in ancient populations. However, while insects from human mummies have been widely studied, there is a limited literature dealing with archaeoentomology of animal sacrifices. Andean...

The human selection of food plants cannot always have been aimed exclusively at isolating the traits typical of domesticated species today. Each phase of global change must have obliged plants and humans to cope with and develop innovative adaptive strategies. Hundreds of thousands of wild cereal seeds from the Holocene 'green Sahara' tell a...

Aim To use forensic entomological approach to estimate the post mortem interval (PMI) in burnt remains.Methods Two experiments were performed in a field in the outskirts of Milan, in winter and summer 2007. Four 60kg pigs were used: two for each experiment. One pig carcass was burnt until it reached the level 2-3 of the Glassman- Crow scale and...

The studies of insects from archaeological contexts can provide an important supplement of information to reconstruct past events, climate and environments. Furthermore, the list of the species present in an area in the past allows the reconstruction of the entomofauna on that area at that time, that can be different from the nowadays...

The activity of arthropods on corpses has been largely investigated, since they can produce information to reconstruct the peri-mortem events. However, the feeding/movement activity of insects around the crime scene, among the clothes and on the body, can also cause some alterations that can lead to wrong reconstruction and misinterpretations....

Diptera puparia may represent both in forensic and archaeo-funerary contexts the majority of the entomological evidence useful to reconstruct the peri and post-mortem events. Puparia identification is quite difficult due to the lack of identification keys and descriptions. In addition, external substances accumulated during the puparia...