title: Preliminary data on carrion insects in urban (indoor and outdoor) and periurban environments in central Spain.
abstract: Although most cases involving entomological evidence occur in urban environments and under indoor conditions, there is a lack of studies determining the insect fauna of forensic importance in those environments. In the current paper we provide the first data on the composition of the forensically important insect species occurring in periurban and both indoor and outdoor urban environments in central Spain. Insects were collected fortnightly by means of carrion-baited traps, uninterruptedly during one year. Most species and individuals were collected in the periurban site, whereas the indoor urban site showed the lowest number of species and captures. Moreover, the composition of species differed among environments and seasons. A few species occurred under both indoor and outdoor conditions, including the blowfly Calliphora vicina and some Sarcophagidae species. These preliminary results suggest interesting differences in the insect composition between environments and conditions which may be of forensic importance, and represent a first step to further research into the application of insects to forensic investigations in urban environments of central Spain.
authors.affiliation: Departmento de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Policiales, Universidad de Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: arturo.baz@uah.es.
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baz
authors.affiliation: Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Policiales, Universidad de Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, BN1 9RH Brighton, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Botías
authors.affiliation: Departmento de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Policiales, Universidad de Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Martín-Vega
authors.affiliation: Departmento de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Policiales, Universidad de Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Blanca
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cifrián
authors.affiliation: Departmento de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Policiales, Universidad de Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Luisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Díaz-Aranda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004772:Entomology; D004777:Environment; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D044707:Forensic Sciences; D007313:Insecta; D012621:Seasons; D013030:Spain
keywords: Carrion-baited traps; Coleoptera; Diptera; Forensic entomology; Southern Europe