Entomologist
Study of Bugs
Who They Are 🙇
Salary 💰
Education 📚
The Bugs 🐛
- Blowfly- first type of insect to arrive & attracted by body fluid & gases.
- Maggots- arrive shortly after Blowfly.
- Flesh Flies- as the body decades from microbial fermentation.
- Beetles- attracted to body fat.
- Piophila casei- 3-6 months protein breaks down.
- Necrophagous- consume dead flesh.
Case
One day on a November afternoon, police were called to investigate a horrible smelling aroma coming from a single family home in the southeastern part of the United States. It was not long before the investigating officers to discover a shallow grave in the dirt basement of the house, “which contained the badly decomposed body of a young female.” It was clear that the victim died of a single bullet wound to the head, shot by a small caliber rifle. An examination of the corpse and examination of the soil in and around the grave site by a forensic entomologist working with police, revealed that the presence of numerous larvae and pupae of two different fly species. The specimens were collected and brought back from the scene to be looked at. Information such as weather data and soil temperature were also reviewed in order to determine the conditions of the death site. Based on the developmental biology of both species of flies in that environment, the forensic entomologist estimated that the specimens associated with the body the longest were in their fourth stage of development. It was estimated that the victim had died approximately 28 days prior to the date her body was discovered. This information allowed authorities to determine the time and death of the victim. “Within a short time, they identified a female suspect who eventually confessed to having killed the victim precisely 28 days prior to the time the body was found. She further admitted to attempting to bury the victim in a shallow grave in the basement of the house after committing the homicide. Calculating the developmental rate of the flies provided investigators with the only scientifically reliable method of estimating the time of the victim’s death and subsequently led to the arrest and conviction of the killer.”
Facts
- In the beginning, the primary role of an entomologist was to develop and introduce modifications in the environment to minimize the spread of the disease & damaged caused by insects
- Tropical Stick Insect is the longest measuring 13 inches
- The Goliath Beetle weighs 1/4 pound & is five inches long