ABFM ABFM Forensic Entomology & Decomposition

Question 1

Which insect order is considered the most forensically significant due to its early arrival at a decomposing body?

Accepted Answer

Diptera

Answer

Coleoptera

Answer

Hymenoptera

Answer

Lepidoptera

Question 2

The minimum postmortem interval (minPMI) in forensic entomology is estimated by examining which stage of insect development?

Accepted Answer

Age of the youngest insect present

Answer

Adult fly population size

Answer

Age of the oldest insect present

Answer

Number of egg masses deposited

Question 3

Which blowfly species is most commonly used as a forensic indicator in the continental United States?

Accepted Answer

Lucilia sericata

Answer

Calliphora vicina

Answer

Chrysomya rufifacies

Answer

Phormia regina

Question 4

What term describes the predictable sequence of insect species that colonize a corpse over time?

Accepted Answer

Arthropod succession

Answer

Cadaver entomology

Answer

Ecological cascade

Answer

Forensic phenology

Question 5

Temperature directly affects the accuracy of PMI estimates in forensic entomology because it influences what?

Accepted Answer

Rate of insect larval development

Answer

Adult fly lifespan

Answer

Egg-laying behavior only

Answer

Soil pH around the body

Question 6

What is the term for the total heat energy required for an insect to complete a developmental stage, used to calculate PMI?

Accepted Answer

Accumulated degree days (ADD)

Answer

Basal metabolic rate (BMR)

Answer

Heat index value (HIV)

Answer

Thermal neutral zone (TNZ)