Forensic Entomology Video

Where are weather stations located?

a. Airport or Climatological facility b. 4 to 5 feet above the ground - should be collected when insects are found

What is the first insect to arrive on a dead body?

a. Blow Flies (Green and Blue Bottle Flies) b. Small white eggs around the mucus membranes c. Open wounds, blood pools, or skin folds

How does the entomologist collect and preserve insects?

a. Butterfly Net swung over the body; net is then twisted, and the end is pushed into Entomological Kill Jars (to ensure what you caught doesn't escape) b. Store the insects in ethanol or prevent breaking down c. Collect insects around the body d. ½ are preserved in ethanol, the other half are reared to adulthood e. 3 basic rules to preservation i. Use a suitable container 1. Screw cap ii. Use and appropriate preservative 1. Ethanol or dry iii. Store a proper amount within a container

Where are puparia typically found and what do they look like?

a. Clothing, hair, under the body, etc b. Dry dark environments c. ½ preserved d. ½ reared in a dry dark environment but do not need to be fed during this stage e. Dark in color as they age

Where are eggs typically laid and what do they look like?

a. In and around natural mucus membranes b. Wounds, blood, feces, and skin folds c. Typically laid in clumps d. Rice-like in shape/size

2. Why is temperature important for entomology? What temperatures need to be taken at indoors and outdoors crime scenes?

a. Warmer the temperature - the quicker the development b. Maggot Mass - heat generated can affect growth and development of maggots c. Outside: Scene temperature d. Inside: thermostats, fans/AC unit/Heat units, general scene temperature

How are eggs and maggots reared to adulthood?

a. ½ are kept and reared b. Placed on top of beef liver within a pouch, the pouch is then placed on a drying component, and then placed in an air tight container c. Each region goes in a separate container