Short communication A case of flying insects visiting an anatomy and embalming laboratory in Medellín, Colombia Eduardo Amat a, b, * , Claudia Serna-Giraldo a , German Antia-Montoya a a Grupo de Investigaci on Ciencias Forenses y Salud (GICFS), Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Forenses, Tecnol ogico de Antioquia, Instituci on Universitaria, Medellín, Colombia b Programa de P os-graduaç~ ao em Entomologia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amaz^ onia e INPA, Manaus, AM, Brazil article info Article history: Received 15 March 2016 Received in revised form 15 July 2016 Accepted 25 July 2016 Available online 26 July 2016 Keywords: Ethanol Forensic entomology Flowers visitors Urban entomology Ventilation ducts abstract From July to September of 2012, the fauna of flying insects visiting the anatomy and embalming labo- ratory of the Tecnol ogico de Antioquia, Faculty of Forensic Sciences, located in the city of Medellin, Colombia, were recorded. The first checklist in the literature of incidental flying insects occurring in this type of locale is provided, and a brief discussion is given of their behavioral habits related to this un- common case. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction In the context of forensic entomology, insects associated with human corpses may be collected after the body is moved to a morgue. As insects are ubiquitous organisms, it is possible to find them present before or after the autopsy procedure. The most common arthropods found under such circumstances are fleas, ticks, mites, lice, or nits, any or all of which may be present on both fresh remains and associated clothing. 1 Usually these insects are not involved in the decomposition process, but could influence the results of the expert report that could be mistaken for a possible link to the corpse and affecting the Post-mortem Interval (PMI) estimation. 2 These days, different types of locations exist for different pur- poses of corpse storage. Morgues are the most common locale place and their facilities may vary depend on what organization they are associated with; whether a hospital, legal medical institute, mor- tuary service, funeral home, or faculty university (usually associ- ated with medical programs). 3 For pedagogical reasons, laboratories exist where corpses may be stored for study by anat- omy, embalming, and art restoration lecturers. It is obvious that such places must be in an optimal hygienic condition, clean of pathogens, insects, and plagues, in order to ensure the appropriate environment for the personnel procedures involved. 3 Currently, despite the vast literature devoted to forensic entomology, we could find no published studies researching insect fauna visiting these places. It is probable that under regular conditions, no insects are present or recorded. An appropriate assessment of the insect fauna in these places may serve as a framework to identify typical fauna or recognize casual or unconnected species in the decom- position process related to forensic cases. With the proper knowl- edge, such insects could be excluded from reports; also, their occurrence allows recognition of possible modifications to envi- ronmental conditions in atypical cases. This is the first study of flying insects visiting an anatomy and embalming laboratory. 2. Materials and methods The study was performed in the anatomy and embalming lab- oratory of the Tecnol ogico de Antioquia, Institucion Universitaria, located in northwestern Medellin, between 6  16 0 47.25 00 N and 75  35 0 0.64 00 W. Medellin is a large city with a population of 2,464,322. 4 It is located within a highly anthropized Andean valley * Corresponding author. Programa de P os-graduaç~ ao em Entomologia, Coordenaç~ ao de Entomologia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amaz^ onia, Manaus, AM, Brazil. E-mail address: ecamat@gmail.com (E. Amat). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jflm http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2016.07.012 1752-928X/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine 43 (2016) 76e79