Bluebottle can complicate murder investigations

“Their aggressive larval feeding behavior could turn back the postmortem insect clock by eliminating all previous arrivals,” explains cadaver ecologist Christian von Hoermann from the University of Würzburg. “It is important for forensic scientists to know where this bluebottle is found.” Insects on corpses can be an important tool in murder investigations. Hundreds of insect species then populate the dead body, giving experts a variety of spores. But as these are eaten away, determining the time of death and other details – such as whether the body was already in another location – becomes more difficult.

Infestation of bison carcass examined and fly discovered
At the end of July, Von Hoermann deposited a dead bull bison (Bison bonasus) in the Šumava National Park – not far from the Bavarian border – for a research project together with the Nuremberg Zoo, the Bavarian Forest and the Czech Šumava National Park. According to the zoo, this was the first interpretation of a bison carcass under targeted scientific sampling and observation in Central Europe.

Until now, flies only lived in eastern and tropical areas
The scientists watched the animal decompose for more than two months. The bluebottle Chrysomya albiceps was first discovered in the national park. Until now, finds were only known from warmer areas in southern Europe, the eastern and tropical regions.