Colonisation Wave
Definition
A discrete succession of insect species arriving and exploiting remains as the decomposition chemistry changes. Blow-flies typically colonise first; flesh flies, beetles, and mites follow at predictable but overlapping intervals.
- Field
- Forensic entomology casework
- First arrivals
- Blow flies
- Later arrivals
- Flesh flies, beetles, mites
- Pattern
- Predictable but overlapping succession
Common questions
Why does the succession of species matter for PMI estimation beyond the first colonisers?+
Once a body has decomposed past the point where blow fly larvae development is still measurable, the presence of later-wave species such as beetles becomes the only remaining clock, so entomologists rely on succession data specifically for advanced decomposition cases.
What causes waves to overlap rather than replace each other cleanly?+
Different species are attracted to different decomposition byproducts and microhabitats on the same body at the same time, for example maggot masses versus drier tissue, so multiple waves can coexist rather than one species fully vacating before the next arrives.
Related terms
- Accumulated Degree Hours (ADH)
- A temperature-corrected measure of developmental time. Calculated by summing (hourly ambient temperature minus the species-specific base temperature threshold) across the period of...
- Entomotoxicology
- The analysis of insect tissue for drugs and toxins when decomposition has made conventional biological fluids unavailable. Blow-fly larvae feeding on a...
- Microclimate
- The localised temperature and humidity conditions immediately at the body surface, which often differ from the nearest weather-station record by several degrees....
- Minimum PMI (PMImin)
- The shortest interval consistent with the entomological evidence. In practice this is what entomologists estimate: a floor on elapsed time based on...
- Post-Mortem Interval (PMI)
- The time elapsed between death and discovery or examination of remains. PMI estimation draws on multiple disciplines: soft tissue decomposition stage, insect...