This is the first investigation to study the activities, classification, and distributions of forensic medical-related insect species in the field in southern Taiwan. Forensic dipterans were simultaneously collected every two months in Kaohsiung City and Pingtung County using hen carcass. The decay capability of hens differed; however, procedures in decayed hens were similar and went through the following five stages: fresh, bloated, decaying, post decay, and dry. It was found that the

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... ntal conditions of the urban, Kaohsiung City, and rural area, Pintung County, were crucial factors for the occurrence of insects. However, these two experimental areas shared the same three dominant families of the dipterans, i.e. Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, and Muscidae. Calliphorids were the dominant family througout the year and occurred in both areas. In the urban and rural areas, the second dominant species were flesh flies and house flies, respectively. In the urban area, the population size of flies was smaller than that from the rural area for the same period. In observation from the delayed exposure treatments of 0, 24, 48, and 72 h of the carcass, most of the dipteran populations occurred within two to five days, i.e. in the bloated and decaying stages. However, succession was not found among these treatments. Dipteran populations were affected by temperature and environmental shelter. For example, treatments K1 and K3 were unsheltered in an urban area and exposed to direct sunshine in a rural area, respectively, and were less favorable to dipterans.