Checklist of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) associated with Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) Carcasses in Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Forensic entomology deals with the investigation of crime especially post-mortem interval (PMI) with the help of insects. The prime witnesses to crime are the blowflies of the insect order Diptera, family Calliphoridae whose life history patterns help forensic entomologists to solve homicidal cases. But during the process of carcass faunal succession, some insects like ants, beetles, spiders, moths, etc. also impact the rate of decomposition. Among these insects, ants affect the rate of decomposition by removing large masses of fly maggots from carcasses for food. Ants also work on the body of the carcass in different ways and thus knowledge of these accidental visitors and their impact on succession is a prerequisite for the legal experts working in this field. During the faunal succession of the rabbit carcasses used as the animal model in Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the impact of ants and their role on the rate of decomposition by removing the eggs and larvae of forensically important flies from the carcasses has been observed. Accordingly, the checklist of forensically important ants with their detailed role in rabbit carcasses is provided to prepare baseline data for forensic and medicolegal experts for further investigation and reference for research.