National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 1031: Insect 964 is also acting strange

Chapter 1031: Insect 964 is also acting strange

It’s relatively simple to distinguish the third instar larvae. It’s their final step towards becoming an adult fly, and their bodies have grown large enough to be clearly discerned, soon transitioning into pupae and then flies.

So, it’s not always butterflies that emerge from cocoons; moths and even flies can go through this transformation.

Under Jiang Yuan’s guidance, Wan Baoming quickly became familiar with several common third instar larvae.

When it comes to biological practice, learning is very fast. Reading books and looking at pictures in school doesn’t make for clear memories, all that talk of eighth and ninth abdominal segments. But if you see it for real, observe it several times and compare it a few times, the mind remembers quickly.

Take for instance the maggot commonly found in dry toilets, cylindrical but slightly flattened, with a pointed tail, its surface somewhat transparent with a slight yellowish tint. This maggot belongs to the Giant Golden Fly of the Calliphoridae family, with the scientific name (Chrysomyia megacephala Fabricius).

The Giant Golden Fly is also the most common corpse-loving fly species, especially in areas with dry toilets. If there’s a corpse, you can be sure Giant Golden Flies will fly over to lay eggs, thus becoming a great help to forensic doctors.

The Giant Golden Fly not only assists forensic doctors; it’s also beneficial to China’s traditional medicine industry. Traditional medicine uses "Wugu Chong" (grain insect) as an ingredient, claiming it "strengthens the spleen and disperses stagnation; clears heat and eliminates indigestion." It’s important to note that nowadays, some herbalists might use larvae from other fly species in medicines, as ordinary people don’t know the difference and can easily be deceived. Especially with the direct grinding of medicinal materials, once the Wugu Chong is crushed, even if it’s the wrong species, there’s no recourse for complaint.

Therefore, when real "Wugu Chong" is needed, if you can’t catch them yourself and don’t want to be deceived, you might as well start by observing in the dry toilets. In China, only a few provinces lack distribution of the Giant Golden Fly, primarily Heilongjiang and Jilin, Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Tibet; otherwise, they’re quite easy to find.

For people in these areas, if you really don’t know how to differentiate them, you can compare them to a ballet dancer’s calf. Their form and appearance are nearly identical, which shows that beauty and ugliness in the world indeed have something in common.

With Wan Baoming helping, Jiang Yuan quickly began to screen for eggs and pupae.

Flies go through complete metamorphosis—from egg to larva, from larva to pupa, and from pupa to adult, every stage involves a drastic transformation, becoming entirely different in appearance.

This makes it so each stage of fly development has a distinct look, making identification... let’s just say not difficult for the knowledgeable.

Nevertheless, Wan Baoming’s eyes widened when Jiang Yuan started classifying fly eggs.

"Can you really tell whose eggs they are with just one glance?" Wan Baoming has seen and eaten a lot of things... or rather, he has worked alongside entomology experts, yet he has never seen this before.

Normally, experts who engage in such detailed classification also need to consult reference books when it gets to specific species, such as "Fauna of China," "Economic Insects of China," "Key to Common Fly Species in China," and so forth.

Just as experts in the field of writing need reference texts like "Shuo Wen Jie Zi" or the "Kangxi Dictionary."

Jiang Yuan didn’t need to explain much to Wan Baoming, just smiled and said, "It’s not that I can tell just with a glance. Sometimes I have to take a few more looks..."

Mu Zhiyang couldn’t help but look up at Jiang Yuan, "Captain Jiang, you get kind of humorous when you look at fly eggs."

Jiang Yuan laughed without raising his head, "Put on another pair of gloves and help me clear out the insects and eggs from these bottles. Place them on the glass plate so I can identify them later."

With an "Okay," Mu Zhiyang put on gloves, picked up a bottle designated by Jiang Yuan, opened the stopper, and immediately smelled the strong stench.

The odor was swiftly sucked away by the overhead ventilation system, but not before giving Mu Zhiyang a full whiff.

The crime scene personnel are not going to distinguish between the types of insects in detail; in the end, they just scoop them out, poison them, and bring them back in bottles. Inevitably, many bottles will contain a bit of body fluids along with the insects and their eggs.

At the scene, the stronger odors masked it, and it was not noticeable, but once back in the laboratory, it becomes very pungent.

In no time, the black leather examination table was filled with various types of maggot bodies, and eggs—which are only millimeters in size—were neatly arranged in disposable plastic petri dishes.

Mu Zhiyang continued to accompany the process by writing labels and sticking them on one by one.

Beyond that, there were many insects that were not of the fly species, as well as their larvae and eggs.

These are all detailed and tedious tasks, but only by meticulously carrying them out can one proceed to the stage of estimating the time of death.

In fact, the main work lies in identifying the species of the eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults. The remaining work, theoretically, is not much, as long as one follows procedures...

"Something’s off about these insects," Jiang Yuan stopped what he was doing and remarked.

"What’s wrong with the insects?" Wan Baoming didn’t realize what the issue was for a moment.

Jiang Yuan hummed an affirmation, then continued to contemplate while looking over his own records.

The technicians in the room, upon hearing the conversation between the two, subconsciously stopped their actions.

Many procedures are destructive, and when not urgent, it’s always better to wait.

Jiang Yuan sat down on his own, studied his notes with a pen for a while, then looked at Wan Baoming and said, "From what I’ve seen now, the flies I’m looking at don’t seem to be of the same lineage; they’re not from one group, nor from two groups..."

Usually, once a body appears, nearby fly species would come to lay eggs at the fastest speed, often measured in seconds. Additionally, the generational lines of flies are relatively clear: every few days hatching, every few days growing. It may not be precise, but there is a general pattern.

Forensic entomology is used to estimate the time of death based on the reproduction and growth of insects.

For example, if it takes about 20 days for the larvae to reach the third stage, then the deceased has been dead for around 20 days. If the death had occurred even earlier, one might find the second or third generation of insects, and the time is calculated by adding up these generations.

There’s a little-known fact here: adult flies typically start reproducing a few hours after they emerge from their cocoons. They do not delay in their efforts, nor do they delay the calculations of the forensic doctor’s time estimation.

However... this batch of insects did not give Jiang Yuan a clear impression.

Wan Baoming asked, "The body we found was at the secondary crime scene; did the two scenes interfere with the time estimation?"

"There’s definitely interference, but the problem is, looking at the current condition of the flies..." Jiang Yuan said this, pointed to his notebook, and continued: "My judgment is that the scene we found is not a secondary crime scene anymore, but a tertiary one."

"What?" Wan Baoming was stunned: "A tertiary crime scene? The body parts were moved twice? Why?"