Forensic entomology in Germany

Forensic entomology (FE) is increasingly gaining international recognition. In Germany, however, the development of FE has been stagnating, mainly bec ause of the lack of cooperation between police, forensic medicine and entom ology. In 1997 a co-operative research project 'Forensic Entomology' was st arted in Frankfurt/Main at the Center of Legal Medicine and the Research In stitute Senckenberg. The aim of this project is to establish FE in Germany as a firmly integrated component of thr securing of evidence from human cad avers in cases of suspected homicide. For this purpose we developed a foren sic insect collecting kit, and policemen are educated for greater acceptanc e and better application of FE. The scientific programme focusses on the in vestigation of the insect succession on cadavers in urban and rural habitat s. This also includes new indicator groups (e.g. parasitic wasps) for a mor e precise calculation of the late post mortem interval. Recently a DNA-base d reliable and fast identification method especially for the immature stage s of necrophagous insects became part of the project. Preliminary results: ate reported and two case studies presented. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Irel and Ltd. All rights reserved.