Insect fauna

Initial reports on arthropods associated with buried remains arose from the opportunity provided by cemetery exhumations to identify insect fauna in the grave. One of the first published entomological studies of buried human remains reported on the various insect fauna encountered in 150 disinterments (Motter 1898). The study was useful in providing information on both the fauna of the graves and the stages of decomposition encountered upon exhumation (Bornemissza 1957). The majority of species identified were from orders Diptera and Coleoptera however, a comprehensive list of other identified species was also included for each disinterment. 

Charlet, L.D., Brewer, G.J., and Beregovoy, V.H., Insect fauna of the heads and stems of native sunflowers (Asterales Asteraceae) in eastern North Dakota, Environ. Entomol., 21, 493-500, 1992. 

The scarab beetle Osmodenna eremita and its larval predator, the click beetle Elaterferrugineus, are known as indicators of the species richness of insect fauna of hollow deciduous trees in Northern Europe. (R)-4-Decanolide 13 (Figure 4) is the male-produced sex pheromone of 0. eremita 2 Lactone 13 is also employed by E. ferrugineus as a kairomone for the detection of tree hollows containing the larvae of 0. eremita u... 

In many habitats, particularly in the tropics, the most abundant ants are dominants, that is, they exclude other dominants, and normally have semipermanent territories. It is not yet known whether the interspecific territory boundaries are marked by exocrine chemicals, but this seems entirely possible. Since interspecies fighting is probably no more common than fighting between colonies of the same species, it is likely that mechanisms exist to reduce direct aggression. The importance of the dominant ants in determining the insect fauna within their territories has been stressed (e.g., Leston, 1978) particularly with reference to tropical tree crops, where the presence or absence of various pests is often strongly associated with particular dominants. 

There are an increasing number of datasets from comprehensive sampling of tropical insect faunas, including rainforest canopies. However, we are still far... 

DNA barcode data allows comparison of species concepts across geographical boundaries. For example, the taxonomy of the insect faunas of Australia and New Guinea were traditionally studied independently, but extensive DNA barcode... 

Marine fauna and flora, then, show great promise as a source of leads to new agrochemically useful plant growth regulators or insect control agents. 

Basedow, T. 1995. Insect pests, their antagonists and diversity of the arthropod fauna in fields of... 

The marine environment clearly holds a tremendous potential for the discovery of lead compounds for development of agents active against infectious diseases and parasites. Within the vast resource of marine flora and fauna are new chemotypes to stem the tide of drug-resistant microbes and insects. Tapping this biological reserve depends on the technology to collect, rapidly recognize, and characterize trace quantities of secondary metabolites. Recent advances in life-support systems and analytical instrumentation, notably with CCUBA, HPLC, NMR, and MS have made this possible. 

Aquatic Invertebrates. The initial impact of insecticides on most benthic invertebrates in streams is the inability to maintain their position on the streambed resulting in increased numbers being carried downstream in what is termed drift. Invertebrate drift in treated streams is easily sampled by holding a net in the current. Post-spray catches can be compared to both pre-spray diurnal patterns and catches at an untreated upstream station or in an untreated control stream. This method also can be used to document knockdown of streamside foliage-dwelling or arboreal insects if the net is set so as to sample the stream s surface. Impacts on stream invertebrates can also be determined by caging studies and by pre- and post-spray bottom fauna population assessments which either sample the numbers within a given area of natural streambed (e.g., Surber sampler) or on artificial substrates intentionally set in the stream before treatment to be colonized by resident populations. 

Though the body itself forms the primary decompositional site, the soil beneath it may be equally important. Corpses located in outdoor environments on a terrestrial surface create an interface within which soil fauna and carrion-dwelling organisms interact. The interactions in this zone are affected by soil type, vegetation, decomposition of the corpse, and a variety of environmental factors. Apart from the work by Bornemissza (1957) and Lundt (1964) the succession of insects in this interface, and within the soil itself, has been largely overlooked in the literature, and the forensic implications have yet to be considered. 

The dry and wet deposition of acidic sulphur compounds arrives on the soil and on the vegetation. Most rain occurs over land surfaces and washes the pollutants absorbed on vegetation through the soil into freshwater systems. As the rain passes through the soil it is affected by many chemical reactions which can change its composition before it reaches a head-water stream or upland lake. These chemical reactions can be driven by the increased deposition of acidic sulphur compounds and can lead to the acidification of the soils and the freshwaters. Acidified soils are not as productive as weU-buffered soils and have depleted communities of flora and fauna. Acidified freshwaters have depleted fisheries and populations of insects, amphibians, mammals and birds. 

---