Use of Maggots for the Estimation of Time Since Death

The time since death is an important parameter in post-mortem examination. Maggots are when present on the dead body should be used to calculate the time since death. The various species of the flies such as houseflies and blowflies lay their eggs on the natural orifices and the wounds. The eggs hatch in the maggots. The stages of the maggot's development are called as instars. The time since death calculated from the other changes in the dead body after the death compared with the development stages of maggots to know the exact time since death. In the present study 38 dead bodies are studied which were infested by the maggots. The maggot's infestation is effected by the clothing, the season, temperature and relative humidity. The collected data was statistically analyzed by using SPSS version 20. The time since death from the eggs of the flies is 1-3days, from maggots is 2-7days and from empty pupa is about one month. Males (92%) outnumbered females (8%). According to the stages of decomposition, maximum number of cases were in the decaying stage. Hatching was delayed in autumn and in winter.