Possibility of growing insect eggs on human cadavers preserved at sub-zero temperatures for different time intervals

Insects are the first arthropods to invade cadavers and, thus, can be used as evidence in criminal investigations. The current study aimed to investigate the possibility of breeding insect eggs in the lab that would be collected from male human cadavers kept in the mortuary refrigerators at sub-freezing temperatures for different periods. Egg specimens were collected from different human cadavers preserved from −16 to −20°C for different time intervals. All collected eggs were incubated at 25–30°C and 60%–70% and observed until hatched larvae complete their life cycle. All obtained larvae and adults were identified based on morphological characteristics. Data showed that, at selected ranges of temperature and humidity, some eggs were hatched to the first larval stage and then stopped growing, while others completed their life cycle to the adult insect stage. The obtained adult insects were identified using morphological classification and found to belong to Dermestes frischii.