Hymenoptera community of pig carcasse in an urban biotope

Most reports published in the field of forensic entomology studies are focused on Diptera pattern colonization and are neglecting Hymenoptera succession. Hymenoptera are part of the entomofaunal colonization of a dead body as parasitoids of fly pupae. However, one should consider Hymenoptera parasitoids in a forensic entomology context to evaluate the time of death. Blowflies parasitoids may indeed be of particular importance as their time of attack is often restricted to a small, well-defined window of developmental time of the insect host. Because these parasitoids also interfere with developmental times of colonizing Diptera, a better understanding of their ecology is needed.