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__**FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY**__

Forensic entomology is the study of insects and their role/relation to a crime scene or criminal investigation. It is most commonly used to determine the time of death of a victim, but has other uses such as child abuse cases and blood spatter pattern analysis. They don't just deal with murder cases. It usually involves any type of court case that involves insects!

More on what forensic entomology is!

A clip from a forensic entomologist


 * __PREPARED FOR BATTLE__**

Forensic entomology is truly a science. People that study insects are well-trained and come to scenes prepared for their job. The video below shows a forensic entomologist explaining her field kit. Forensic entomologists must be prepared to take body temperatures, live and dead insect samples, soil samples, etc... Many criminals are very intelligent and are careful not to leave any DNA or bodily fluids linking them to a scene. In these cases, if a body was moved, investigators may never know. Forensic entomologists are extremely helpful because they can detect foreign soil or insect varieties on a body and can help determine where a body was kept and whether or not a body was moved.

Forensic entomology kit!

__**GENERAL AREAS OF ENTOMOLOGY**__ The field of forensic entomology is generally divided into three areas:
 * Medicolegal: medicolegal entomologists examine the kinds of insects that infest decomposing human corpses and feed upon them. These entomologists can examine the colonization of these insects and establish how long the insects have infested the body. This can help give investigators a general (or sometimes even specific) time of death. Their examinations can also determine whether or not a body has been moved after death and whether or not certain injuries were created post or pre-mortem. When an expert medicolegal entomologist testifies in a case, their testimony can be extremely important to a case.
 * Urban: certain insects only reside in specific areas. For example, a bug that lives in a rural area and would infest a dead body there may not reside in a body found in a more urban area. Therefore, an urban entomologist can determine where a body was killed or was held based on the existence of certain insects or insect bites.
 * Stored Product Pests: these entomologists tend to examine "imported consumer products and verify their safety. Once the entomologist knows what insects are persent he can determine whether their presence was accidental or intentional He is educated to judge if the insect particulate is normal and legal." (Ehow.com: the three areas of forensic entomology).


 * __ENTOMOLOGY AND TIME OF DEATH__**

Forensic entomology can be extremely important for a number of reasons. One way in which the study of insects can help investigators comes with establishing time of death. The development of certain insects (such as blow flies) can help investigators determine how long a body has been decomposing. Scientists have set up what are called body farms in some places in order to study how bugs interact with decomposing bodies. In these "body farms," bodies that have been donated to science are set up in different scenarios (different temperatures, different conditions, etc..) and scientists can study the stages of larvae development and get a real grasp on exact times of death.

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As mentioned above, body farms are used in order to study the rate of human decomposition and the insect life that sets up camp in these bodies. Scientists are able to study decay in detail at these body farms in normal circumstances, but they can also change certain conditions and examine the rates of decomposition in those conditions. These body farms help forensic scientists and forensic entomologists to further their knowledge and expand their expertise. Their work is extremely important because the more knowledgeable they are, the more adept they are at helping to establish time of death, cause of death and help to solve crime in general. Many agencies such as the FBI send their agents to body farms in order to study and learn so that they can become more efficient agents. [] [] []
 * __THE BODY FARM__**