2003-09 Kelly Myers: Forensic Entomology
Benecke.Com/Benecke Forensic Biology presents:
Forensic Entomology
Kelly Myers
Zionsville High School , USA
September 2003
Forensic Entomology can best be
defined as the use of the insects, and
their arthropod relatives that inhabit decomposing remains to aid legal
investigations (Forensic Entomology). Entomology is not an area of
science that
many people relate with Forensics. Several cases are solved by the use
of
Forensic Entomology even though that detail won’t hit the front page of
the New
York Times. When asked if Forensic Entomology is useful in solving
cases, Dr. Mark
Benecke says, “Forensic
Entomology is just one more method—the more methods you got in your
toolbox the
better.” (Benecke)
Forensic Entomology can
give helpful hints in determining several different facts of a case. If
the
body has been moved after death, some insects may be native to the
original
location of where the body was found whereas it wouldn’t be to the
actual
location where the death took place (Department of Agriculture Western
Forensic Entomologists
go through a strict protocol when arriving to a crime scene. First they
examine
the scene and the weather. The amount of sunlight or shade,
temperature,
distance from windows or doors, and vegetation have to be carefully
studied so
the explanation for the presence of certain insects can be determined
(Forensic
Entomology). During this the entomologist may use a high resolution
camera
and/or draw a very descriptive sketch (Benecke). After all descriptive
details
are recorded or photographed. The insects are then collected: the adult
flies
and beetles are the first collected. The flies are trapped by a hand
net but
often hard to catch because they escape very quickly when the body is
disturbed. The beetles are collected with forceps or gloved hands. Both
are
placed into jars where they become immobile and are then moved to a
vial
containing 75% ethyl alcohol where they are killed and sent to be
further
studied in the laboratory (Forensic Entomology). See Figure A, it gives
a image
with pictures of the tools used and why they are needed (Department of
Agriculture Western
Not only do they collect
insects from the bugs they also collect many insects once the body is
removed
because they were buried or just on the ground. It is sometimes
necessary to
dig into the ground 4-6 inch squares to recover any insects under the
head,
torso, and extremities (Forensic Entomology).These insects are too
collected
and put into the vials so they can be transported to the laboratory to
be
studied. The bugs, carefully packaged and not touched, are mailed to a
laboratory over night to be carefully examined and tested for any
possible
evidence. When in the laboratory, the scientist use growth curves to
determine
what stage the insect was at when on the body. This information is very
helpful
in determining when the time of death was. See Figure B for an example
of what
a growth curve of an Isomorphen Lucilla Sericata (
“Forensic
Entomology can easily be used in courts when the expert is an
expert, states Dr. Benecke. In
a case in 1999 “ The Zoo Man and the Insects”, a young man named
Huskey, also known as the “Zoo Man”, had been convicted for the murder
of 4
young women who had been buried by a zoo where he had often taken
ladies for
intimate reasons. He admitted to murder but when a famous Entomologist
Dr. Goff
studied the insects collected from one of the bodies he discovered that
the
body couldn’t have been killed before the date which he had been
convicted. In
this case, the Forensic Entomologist’s opinion was very critical in the
case.
Unfortunately the jury had a hard time coming to a sentence because
Huskey
suffered from mental illnesses (Ramsland).
Today Forensic
Entomology is used more often to help solve a crime. Forensics becomes
more and
more popular each day with the influence of today’s nightly television
shows.
The insects studied from a crime scene are not only helpful in
discovering the
time of death or location but can recover human remains which can be
very
helpful for the toxicology department of a forensics laboratory
(Forensic
Entomology).
(c) Kelly Myers, Zionsville, USA.
Suggested Readings
- Skilled works about Forensic Entomology and DNA / DNA-Tying
- Entomofauna on buried carrions in Calabria, Southern Italy (Speech)
- Flies and ants: A forensic entomological neglect case of an elderly man in Calabria, Southern Italy
- Dermestes frischii and D. undulatus (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) on a Human Corpse in Southern Italy
- Einseitiges Auftreten von Maden im Gesicht einer Leiche
- Insekten auf Leichen in Kolumbien