Insect Succession and Habitat Influence on Decomposition in Yanbu Industrial City, Western Saudi Arabia: A Baseline Study for Forensic Application

Authors

• Abdullah A. Daghar, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
• Abdullah G. Alghamdi, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaFollow
• Majed S. Alrefaei, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Forensic entomology plays a vital role in medico-legal investigations by providing key insights into post-mortem interval (PMI) estimation through the ecological succession and developmental patterns of necrophagous insects. Despite global advancements in this field, forensic entomological data in arid regions such as Saudi Arabia remains scarce and fragmented. This study investigates the diversity, abundance, and seasonal fluctuations of forensically important insect taxa across four ecologically distinct environments,desert, coastal, agricultural, and urban in Yanbu Industrial City, western Saudi Arabia. Field experiments were conducted using rabbit carcasses as decomposition models, exposed systematically across seasons. Insects were collected and morphologically identified. Results revealed significant spatiotemporal variation in insect abundance, with the highest activity recorded during the summer, particularly in urban and agricultural settings. In contrast, insect activity declined markedly during the winter, especially in desert habitats. These patterns suggest strong ecological dependencies between insect succession, habitat type, and climatic factors such as temperature and humidity. In this study it had been recorded the following species Lucilia sericata (Calliphoridae: Diptera), Chrysomya albiceps (Calliphoridae: Diptera), Musca domestica (Muscidae: Diptera), Musca sorbens (Muscidae: Diptera), Sarcophaga dux (Sarcophagidae:Diptera), Sarcophaga ruficornis (Sarcophagidae:Diptera), Wohlfahrtia nuba (Sarcophagidae:Diptera), Wohlfahrtia bella (Sarcophagidae:Diptera), Saprinus splendens (Histeridae :Coleoptera) and Dermestes frischii (Dermestidae:Coleoptera). These preliminary forensic entomology investigation is a unique study for the region especially for Yanbu governorate.

First Page

29

Last Page

41

Recommended Citation

Daghar, Abdullah A.; Alghamdi, Abdullah G.; and Alrefaei, Majed S. (2026) "Insect Succession and Habitat Influence on Decomposition in Yanbu Industrial City, Western Saudi Arabia: A Baseline Study for Forensic Application," The Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Science: Vol. 36: Iss. 2, Article 3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64064/1658-4252.1027

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.