Since yesterday's entry was about the study of pollen in forensics, it seemed appropriate to follow it up with the science of using insect evidence from crime scenes to help convict criminals, known as forensic entomology. Although most of these cases involve using maggot growth to nail down a time of death, there are other interesting applications as, well.
The Introduction to Forensic Entomology site has several case histories, including one where chiggers helped catch the bad guy. When law enforcement officials got chigger bites at the crime scene and noticed the same type of bites on the murder suspect, they had a forensic entomologist analyze the bites. He discovered that the only location was in a narrow area where the body was found, which meant the suspect had to have been there at some point, which didn't correspond to his testimony.
Then there's the case of the cockleburs. When police went looking for a suspect who was wearing a ski mask at the time of an assault, they found such a mask with cockleburs at a suspect's apartment. Although he claimed not to have used it since the previous winter, a forensic entomologist found billbug larvae in the cockleburs, which don't overwinter and wouldn't have survived in a heated apartment during the season. The court trusted the evidence, and the rapist was convicted.
Almost makes you think twice about squishing that bug, doesn't it?
Comments