Forensic Entomology

• Author: Gail S. Anderson and Sherah L. VanLaerhoven
• Pages: 499-526

499

A. OVERVIEW

Forensic or, more correctly, medicolegal entomology is the study of the

carrion insects associated with a dead body. The primary aim of forensic

entomology is to estimate the minimum colonization time of insects on

a dead body in order to infer a minimum elapsed time since death (the

post-mortem interval). The principles of forensic entomology can also be

applied to a live person in cases of abuse or neglect. Insects may indicate

whether a body has been moved from one site to another, whether it has

been disturbed after death, and the presence or position of wound sites that

are no longer visible due to decomposition. Insects can be used as alternate

toxicological specimens when more traditional samples are no longer avail-

able and, because they feed on the host, the victim’s DNA can sometimes

be extracted from insects left behind when the body has been removed.

Hence insects are extremely valuable evidence in criminal investigations.1

Forensic entomology is one of the oldest forensic sciences, being f‌irst

reported in a murder investigation in tenth-century China.2 Modern use

1 Although the principles of forensic entomomlogy are primarily used to assist investi-

gations into human deaths, carrion insects are attracted to any dead animal and so it

is equally valuable in criminal cases involving animals, such as in wildlife or animal

cruelty crimes.

2 Bernard Greenberg & John C. Kunich, Entomology and the Law: Flies as Forensic

Indicators (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002).

CHAPTER 15

Forensic Entomology

Gail S. Anderson and Sherah L. VanLaerhoven

LEgAL ConTExT: CAiTLin PAkosH

500 6 Gail S. Anderson and Sherah L. VanLaerhoven

began in mid–nineteenth-century France and it became established in

South America and Europe in the early part of the twentieth century. Its

f‌irst use in Canada did not come until the 1960s, and then only in a very

unusual manner. A suspect in a murder case was picked up by police with

Canadian banknotes in his possession. The notes had strange hair-like ma-

terial stuck to them with dried blood. Similar material was found in the

pocket of the victim and in the drawer in which he was known to keep his

money. The RCMP took this material to entomologists at the Entomology

Research Institute, Canada Department of Agriculture, in Ottawa, where

they were identif‌ied as the plumose hairs of a bumblebee. The police re-

investigated the drawer in which the decedent kept his money and found

the remains of a dead bumblebee. This information was instrumental in

the conviction of the suspect.3

Forensic entomology became more widely adopted in North America

in the 1970s, and research in this area has grown exponentially in the last

twenty to thirty years. Today, it is a well-recognized, well-researched, and

highly valuable tool in criminal investigations. Its value has been accepted

by academics, police, and the criminal justice system. Where previously

forensic entomologists would have been brought into a case only to pro-

vide an estimate of the elapsed time since death, today they of‌fer insights

into many other areas, including evidence of body relocation, pet animal

and wildlife crime, and abuse.

1) Application in Canadian Criminal Courts

As noted above, the forensic entomologist appearing in court will typically

testify to the length of time insects have been associated with the remains,

which informs an estimate of the minimum elapsed time since death.

But before a case goes to court, and often prior to the identif‌ication of a

suspect, the forensic entomologist will submit a report to the requesting

agency. The report may be accepted into evidence on its own by the court,

other times the forensic entomologist will be called to testify to explain

the scientif‌ic reasoning behind the report’s conclusions. An explanation

would likely include a description of how insects colonize remains, how

they develop through their life cycle, and how each stage and species can

be identif‌ied. From this, the entomologist can explain how the age of an

3 H.F. Howden, “The Mercure Trial: A Sideline of Entomology” (1964) 96 The Can-

adian Entomologist 121.