A study of insects on decomposition stage of pig carcasses at Masarang Forest, North Sulawesi, Eastern Indonesia

To investigate the colonization of Insects on the pig (Sus scrofa Linnaeus) carcasses at Masarang forest, present study was carried out in two ways: pig carcasses weighing 35 kg are laid on the ground, and 2 kg of fresh pork pieces are hung at a height of 2.5 m. Decomposition of pig carcasses weighing 35 kg is found in the stage of fresh, bloat, decay, and skeletal. The forensic insects found in carcasses consist of 6 orders, 23 families, and 32 species. The main insects found on pig carcasses are Diptera and Coleopetara. Dominant insects consist of Chrysomya megacephala, Ophyra albuquerquei, and Nicrophorus vespilloides. The relative abundance of insects starts at the stage of fresh, in its peaks at the stage of decay, and decreases at the stage of skeletal. The C. megacephala came earlier on the pig carcasses, and it became dominant insect from the stage of fresh to decay, aw well as it can be a bioindicator for post-mortem intervals. Likewise, N. vespilloides become dominant and a bioindicatorat at the stage of decay. Larvae of N. vespilloides as predators and meat-eating necrophagous cause the stages of decomposition to be shorter. Variations in species and relative abundance of forensic insects at the stage of decomposition are in the stage of decay. The relative abundance of the highest imago of N. vespilloides are found on pork pieces. Staphylinidae, Gauropterus sp. become dominant at the stage of skeletal, and it can be used as an indicator.