Atypical succession of insects associated with pig cadavers (Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758) in Tunja, Boyacá, Colombia.

Forensic entomology complements medicolegal investigations by studying insects at the crime scene. In Colombia, studies that characterized the succession of cadaver entomofauna have been published. However, in Tunja (Boyacá), the information related to evaluating the decomposition process and the fauna associated with cadavers is incipient. Therefore, this study aimed to describe that process under the environmental conditions of the municipality. Four pig cadavers were used to monitor decomposition and collect the visiting species. We conducted a descriptive statistical analysis with diversity indexes and a canonical correspondence analysis to evaluate the possible relations among decomposition stages, the species, and environmental variables. The observed decomposition process was atypical, presenting a prolonged duration of the early cadaveric phenomena and a low number of arthropods attracted to the cadavers. In total, we collected 1 249 arthropods. The Diptera and Coleoptera orders were the most abundant, representing 55.7% and 33.7%, respectively. The Calliphoridae family represented 64.7% of the Diptera fauna succession, with Calliphora vicina and Chrysomya albiceps as the most abundant species and the first colonizers under the conditions of the study zone. The results provide information about the entomofauna associated with decomposing bodies in the municipality of Tunja. Due to the environmental conditions of the study zone, we could demonstrate that factors like rainfall and temperature could delay colonization and the onset times of cadaveric phenomena.