EXPLORATION OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HISTERIDAE BEETLES ON CARCASSES IN THE FIELD OF FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY

This 2024 Royal Entomological Society Student Forum presentation by Jasvinder Kumar from Panjab University, Chandigarh, explores the ecological role and forensic value of Histeridae beetles on decomposing buffalo carcasses in Mullanpur Garibdass, India (30.79425° N, 76.74646° E). The study analyzes succession patterns, species diversity, and environmental correlations, including temperature, humidity, and pH, across decomposition stages from June to December 2022 in a subtropical monsoon climate with average rainfall of 617 mm, temperatures ranging from 4 to 45°C, and humidity around 70%.Research objectives focus on assessing Histeridae as predators and decomposers alongside blowflies to improve minimum post-mortem interval (m-PMI) estimation in later decay phases, examining species preferences from fresh through bloated, active decay, advanced decay, and remains stages, and evaluating abiotic influences on beetle abundance and diversity.Buffalo carcasses from local sources were placed in a 0.5 km² farmland area surrounded by flora like Ficus religiosa and Acacia and fauna including crows and dogs. Daily collections occurred from the carcass and soil, with specimens preserved in labeled ethanol vials recording stage, date, temperature, humidity, and pH. Identification involved dissection for genitalia study using keys by Ohara and Ahn, examination under a Leica S9i microscope, photography with a Canon EOS 80D, and Adobe Photoshop stacking. Diversity metrics included Simpson's index (D), similarity (1-D), Shannon-Wiener (H), and evenness (E), alongside correlation tests for environmental factors.Key results show Histeridae peaking during bloated and active decay stages as they predate fly eggs and maggots before declining in remains, with pH strongly correlating to species shifts while temperature and humidity showed lesser impact. Diversity was highest in September (D=0.756, H=0.618), with evenness varying from 0.318 to 0.555. Species progression included Saprinus splendens as initial colonizers in the fresh stage, expanding in the bloated stage to include S. quadriguttatus, S. caerulescens, S. optabilis, and S. chalcites, reaching peak variety in active decay with additions like Saprinus sp. 1 and 2, Atholus coelestis, Carcinipus pumilio, Hypococacus sp., A. bimaculatus, and Merohister jakeli, then refining in advanced decay and remains to Atholus daldorffi and M. jakeli alongside core Saprinus species.Histeridae complement Diptera for accurate late-stage PMI estimates, highlighting the need for region-specific data amid geographic variations, while supporting their roles in ecology and public health. The work was funded by a Panjab University PhD fellowship, building directly on the 2023 poster research.