CSI: Crime Solving Insects
When people hear the initials CSI, they think of a TV show where David Caruso got a second chance after foolishly leaving NYPD Blue. In the insect world, CSI actually stands for Crime Solving Insects.
Did you know that insects can help solve murders by pinpointing the time and location of death, the month a crime was committed and chemicals ingested in a body. They also can help determine if there was abuse and even the circumstances of automobile accidents. Meet the newest brigade of crime fighters: insects.
Forensic entomology has been in existence for centuries; however, it has only in the past decade gained widespread application toward criminal investigations. The use of insects in murder cases and other crimes is becoming quite significant — with police, FBI and other crime investigators now being trained in this area.
In fact, insects provide a level of objectivity to an investigation that should not be overlooked. Often, entomology is more accurate than what pathologists or coroners can do alone, because they must make approximations only on visual decomposition. Experts agree that insects are the only entirely objective way to determine the time of death, often within a range of two hours. Knowing that information can lead to who could have committed the crime.
Insects are usually the first to arrive to the scene of a murder crime – sometimes as early as minutes after a person’s death. Wiithin 30 minutes, insects begin to lay eggs.
The growth and reproduction of cold-blooded insects correlates with temperatures in their surroundings. By observing the stage of insect development and matching temperatures with the weather station nearest the crime scene, forensic entomologists can very closely estimate the time of death. The accuracy of the forensic entomologist is very important as a difference in even three degrees in temperature could cause a variation of three or four days.
Insects can also help determine where someone was killed or if a body was moved after death, according to M. Lee Goff, entomologist and author of A Fly for the Prosecution: How Insect Evidence Helps Solve Crimes. Different species of bugs are native to certain areas of the country, and some are characteristic to specific areas within a region.
Forensic entomologists have also been called onto the scenes of automobile accidents where the presence of bee stings or wasps have been suspected of cause and in perplexing accidents, remains of bugs impacted on parts of cars have been examined to determine location and direction of travel.
In my opinion, it’s only a matter of time before there’s a reality television show devoted to forensic entomology.
What are your thoughts on forensic entomology? Would you watch a reality show involving this crime-solving technique? Which CSI show do you watch the most? But I digress…
Barry The Bug Guy
