Forensic Importance
Trogidae's use in forensic entomology is unknown at this time. They are scavengers and can be found in carcasses or bird or mammal nests. They typically arrive last in the order of succession and feed on dried feathers, fur, and skin, but could be the first in succession if a body was first burned and charred. After the burned skin is eaten away by the Trogids, the corpse (with now-exposed, "fresher" surfaces) allows for viable colonization by other forensically important insects that help determine accurate Post mortem interval estimates. The adults lay their eggs in vertical burrows in the soil beneath carcasses.
Various species of Trogidae have been used by museums to clean up skeletons by eating any remaining dried material left on the skeletons leaving them clean for display. This method of bone-stripping has been used by some museums for many years as it is the most effective method.
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