The Effects of Chemicals Used For Suicide on Insect Succession, Diversity and Development: An Animal Model

Abstract

It has proven that the presence of different chemicals can affect the succession patterns of necrophagous
insects. A comprehensive study was designed on the effects of nortriptyline, diazinon, and aluminum
phosphate on arthropod’s succession and diversity on cadavers.
Sixteen rabbits in two groups were used as a model in this study, 12 of them were treated with the drugs
and were placed in two habitats (sun and shade) based on the study design. For each group, one cage
was considered as control. Insects were collected twice a day from the cadavers and identified.
In total, 549 necrophagous insects from five families, were collected from all the carcasses. Chrysomya
albiceps was the dominant insect on all cadavers, expect for one treated with diazinon, in which it was
displaced by Dermestes frischii. The highest number of insects were collected on the sixth day for all
cadavers. The majority were collected from the shaded cages.
Generally, the species diversity was higher for all the cadavers treated with the drugs compared to the
control cadavers. The results showed that the presence of diazinon in the cadaver can repel necrophagous
insects, on the contrary nortriptyline seems to attract more species/specimen.