Entomotoxicology is the analysis of toxins in arthropods (mainly flies and beetles) that feed on corpse. Forensic entomology is the use of insects in legal matters. Knowledge of the distribution, biology, ecology and behavior of insects found at crime scene can provide information on when, where and how the crime was committed. Forensic entomotoxicology studies the usefulness of insects as alternative toxicological samples. Use of insects as alternative matrix for drug detection is well documented and recommended when conventional matrices such as blood, urine or internal organs are no longer available.The accuracy of entomological estimates in deaths involving narcotic intoxication has been subject to debate in recent years as few available studies have explored the effects of drugs contained in decomposing tissues on fly colonization and ovipositional behavior, or on the rates of development of carrion-frequenting insects feeding on such food sources.The major lacunae in this field is the effect toxins and contaminants have on the development of immature insects feeding on the corpse containing these substances and studies have to be conducted in this grey area.

It is possible to identify drugs and poisons present in cadavers by analyzing blowfly larvae and pupae col lected during forensic autopsies. The main purpose of this study was to use Lucilia sericata’s larvae and pupae to iden tify drugs and poisons present in human cadavers.

In an investigation, immature L. sericata fed meat treated with methamphetamine (MA) at various concentra tions (45, 90, and 180 ng/mg) were analyzed to detect MA. Acetylation derivatization and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) were used as sample preparation methods prior to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analytical instru men tation to find MA.

According to this study, L. sericata can be used in toxicological testing to identify MA in a host body. All L. seri cata larval stages, particularly the third stage larva, pupa and empty pupa tested were positive for MA. Larvae in their first instar produced weak peaks. The L. sericata post-feeding instar following the 45 ng/mg treatment showed the highest MA concentration. For the first time, derivatization using the acetylation approach was used to prepare samples, and successfully, excellent results were obtained.

Low quantities of MA can be easily found in immature fly samples using GC-MS. It is important to ana lyze all samples including human tissues and insect samples, for postmortem drug testing. They can be utilized to find entire MA before they are excreted in excretory samples such as urine. Also, third instar larvae are a great and reliable sample for toxicological study.

Entomotoxicology as a subset of forensic entomology can be used by analysis of carcass feeding in sects to detecting of drugs or toxins, as well as the cause and manner of death in cases of ante-mortem drugs intoxi cation. Morphine is one of the deacetylate metabolites of heroin. The aim of this study was to determine the presence and quantity of morphine in insects on the carcass and compare them with decomposing carcass. Field of this study was in Chalabeh District and toxicological tests were carried out at the Department of Forensic Toxicology, Legal Medicine Center, Kermanshah, Iran in 2017. Morphine was inoculated into live rabbit as experimental model at concentrations of 12.5, 25, 50mg/ml, similar to those normally encountered in human over doses, then quality and quantity of morphine were determined in insects such as Chrysomya albiceps (as the first wave of insect succession on human cadavers) fed on carcass. Quantitative assessment at larvae showed that morphine was detected in all larvae (feeding and post feeding stage) fed on tissues from carcasses administered morphine, except for post-feeding larvae from R1 which received 12.5mg/ml dosage of morphine. Necrophagous insects are an indicator on the scene of crime and a potential source of information about the antemortem situation. Detection of drug in insects which is actually a reflection of the cause of death is possible.