To date, 26 species of silphid beetles in nine genera within two subfamilies have been recorded in Korea, among which, we examined necrophilous and necrobiont silphids with the aim of identifying candidate species that could be used as forensic indicators. We compiled a list of 15 species in seven genera and two subfamilies based on specimens obtained from 36 repeated experiments using pig cadavers and a search of previous literature: seven species in the subfamily Nicrophorinae (
Medicolegal entomology is an area of forensic entomology that concerns the role of insect evidence in criminal investigations [
Carrion beetles (Coleoptera, Silphidae) play essential roles in biological decomposition, and although primarily carrion feeders (necrophagous species), they may also act as predators by consuming other carrion inhabitants [
The coleopteran family Silphidae consists of a relative small group of beetles, comprising 183 known species in 15 genera worldwide [
We initially compiled data from 64 cases reported in forensic entomology literature published in Korea, among which, carrion beetles were recorded in 32 cases. These records were subsequently combined with the data of specimens collected from 36 pig cadavers sampled at different locations in Korea: Busan (35°04′38″N, 129°03′47″E: May 25, 2016 to May 2, 2018), Changwon (35°16′21″N, 128°38′34″E: April 16 to December 5, 2018), Miryang (35°16′21″N, 128°38′34″E: September 21 to December 1, 2017), Haenam (34°42′19″N, 126°23′28″E: July 11 to August 4, 2018), Mokpo (34°54′51″N, 126°26′34″E: April 24 to August 4, 2018), Okcheon (August 1, 2017 to July 30, 2018), Gongju (36°28′17″N, 127°08′40″E: April 5 to July 30, 2018), and Namyangju (37°35′48″N, 127°20′04″E: July 24, 2017 to July 30, 2018).
Carrion beetles were sampled by sweeping nets above and around the animal cadavers, by using baited pitfall traps, and by direct removal from the animal cadavers using forceps, in order to collect as many individuals and species as possible. Overall, we collected and examined 3,016 silphid specimens. We used the species accumulation curves to measure the saturated samplings of local species using EstimateS version 8.0 [
Identification of collected specimens was carried out under an Olympus SZ61 stereomicroscope (Tokyo, Japan) using taxonomic keys and characters proposed by Cho [
To date, 26 species in the coleopteran family Silphidae have been recorded in Korea, among which, 13 species are from each of the two subfamilies Nicrophorinae and Silphinae. Of these species, we obtained 15 from animal cadavers in the present study: seven species in Nicrophorinae (
List of the Korean species of carrion beetles
Subfamily | Species | Body size (mm) | Feeding habit | Reference | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A | B | C | D | ||||||
Nicrophorinae | 18–22 | – | HN, HWN, PB, PN | – | – | – | – | ||
30–40 | – | CB, CN, GB, GG, GN, GW, HWN, | – | + | – | – | [ |
||
JB, JN, PB | |||||||||
14–24 | – | CN, GB, GG, HN, PB | – | – | – | – | |||
14–23 | Necrophagous or predaceous | CB, GB, GN, GW, HWB, JB, PB | – | – | – | – | [ |
||
22–32 | – | CB, CN, GG, GW, JJ, PB | – | – | – | – | – | ||
15–25 | Necrophagous |
CB, CN, GB, GG, GN, GW, JB, JJ, |
– | – | + | – | [ |
||
13–18 | – | CB, CN, GB, GW | – | – | – | – | – | ||
14–21 | Necrophagous | CB, CN, GB, GG, GN, GW, JB, JJ, | + | + | + | – | [ |
||
JN, PB | |||||||||
18–20 | Necrophagous | CN, GB, GG, GW, JG, PB, YG | – | – | – | – | [ |
||
16–18 | – | GW | – | – | – | – | – | ||
10–20 | Necrophagous or | GB, GG, GN, HB, PB | – | + | – | – | [ |
||
predaceous | |||||||||
14–17 | Parasitic | CB, CN, GB, GG, GN, GW, HWN, JB, JJ, JN, PB | + | + | – | – | [ |
||
13–16 | – | GG, GW, HWB | – | – | – | – | – | ||
Silphinae | 11–16 | Phytophagous | GB, GG, GW, HB, JB, PB, YG | – | – | – | – | [ |
|
12–16 | Predaceous | CB, CN, GB, GG, GW, HB, JN, PB | – | – | – | – | [ |
||
15–28 | Necrophagous or predaceous | CB, CN, GB, GG, GN, GW, JB, JJ, JN, PB, YG | – | + | + | + | [ |
||
15–20 | – | CB, CN, GG, GN, GW, JB, JJ, JN | – | – | + | – | [ |
||
18–25 | Necrophagous | CB, CN, GB, GG, GN, GW, HB, HN, | – | + | + | – | [ |
||
JB, JJ, JN, PB | |||||||||
11–23 | Predaceous | CB, CN, GB, GG, GN, GW, JB, JJ, | + | – | + | – | [ |
||
JN | |||||||||
15–17 | Necrophagous | GB, GW, JB, PB | – | – | – | – | [ |
||
15–17 | Necrophagous or | CB, CN, GB, GN, GW, HN, JJ, JN, | – | – | + | + | [ |
||
predaceous | YG | ||||||||
14–18 | Predaceous | GN, GW, HB, PB | + | + | – | – | [ |
||
16–17 | – | GW | – | – | – | – | – | ||
15–20 | Predaceous | GB, GW, HB, HN, HWB, JB, JJ, YG | – | – | – | – | [ |
||
8–12 | Necrophagous or | CN, GB, GG, GN, GW, JB, JJ, JN | + | – | + | – | [ |
||
predaceous | |||||||||
9–12 | Necrophagous or | CB, CN, GB, GG, GN, GW, JB, JN, | + | – | + | – | [ |
||
predaceous | JJ |
Animal cadaver in experiment: A, bird; B, rabbit; C, pig; D, piece of pig.
Distribution: CB, Chungcheongbuk-do; CN, Chungcheongnam-do; GB, Gyeongsangbuk-do; GG, Gyeonggi-do; GN, Gyeongsangnam-do; GW, Gangwon-do; HB, Hamgyeongbuk-do; HN, Hamgyeongnam-do; HWB, Hwanghaebuk-do; HWN, Hwanghaenam-do; JB, Jeollabuk-do; JG, Jagang-do; JJ, Jeju-do; JN, Jeollanam-do; PB, Pyeonganbuk-do; PN, Pyeongannam-do; YG, Yanggang-do
Record in literature
Newly added to cadaver fauna.
We found that the species accumulation curve generated in this study approached the asymptote (
Species accumulation curve for carrion beetles on animal cadavers in Korea.
Furthermore, we found that
The case frequencies of 15 silphid species sampled in 68 cases and the comparison between Silphinae and Nicrophorinae in a box plot.
With the aim of assisting criminal and forensic investigators who wish to perform the rapid identification of cadaver-associated beetles and thereby potentially discover clues of forensic relevance, we prepared a relatively simple identification key to the important Korean fauna (
The pictorial key to the Korean carrion beetles of potential forensic importance using external morphological characters.
Although generally associated with decomposition, not all carrion beetles are considered to be of forensic relevance, and the findings of the present study and observations reported in the literature would appear to indicate that only 15 of the 26 species recorded in Korea are typically associated with cadavers.
On the basis of our observations indicating that species in the subfamily Silphinae are more frequently attracted to animal cadavers than are those in the subfamily Nicrophorinae (as shown in
Carrion beetles generally have a longer life cycle than dipteran species [
We believe that this key will prove useful to those inexperienced in Silphidae taxonomy, as the characters upon which the key is based are generally external morphological features that are readily visible to the naked eye. Although relatively simple, we anticipate that this type of pictorial key would assist criminal investigators as taxonomic novices, thereby highlighting its importance [
No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.
We would like to appreciate Ji-Whan LEE and Bong-Whan JI for field works, Da-Hyun WOO (Kosin University) for database work, and Dr. Min Hyeuk LEE (Korea National Park Service) for taking the photos of Silphidae, and. This research was supported by the Projects for Research and Development of Police and Technology under the Center for Research and Development of Police Science and Technology and the Korean National Police Agency (PA-G000001).