July 5
Leioa, Spain - Scientists in Spain are studying certain bugs' life cycles to learn how they can help determine a person's time of death.

The Forensic Entomology Service at the University of the Basque Country is cataloging species of bugs that live on dead tissue.

Researchers said they hope to augment what's known about necrophagous insects indigenous to the three-province Basque country, their development cycles and distribution patterns and how this information can be used when a body is found.

The researchers set traps with bait to attract insects that feast on decomposing animal flesh. Once captured, researchers re-created the bugs' living conditions in a lab to chart their life cycles -- from eggs being laid until adulthood.

To date, researchers took samples and found differences between the types of insects living in urban areas and those found in more rural settings. They said such a finding could be significant in proving whether a crime occurred in one location and the body transferred to another spot.
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The U.S. has the Body Farm and it does the same thing.
http://www.deathsacre.com/