FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY, THE USE OF INSECTS IN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS

Catalog description

This course will examine the roles that insects play in the field of Forensic Science. Specifically, during this course the students will be focusing on the entomological contributions that have served to further our understanding of how both human and animal remains decompose, as well as how insects can be employed in neglect, abuse, and food contamination cases. Students will learn to identify forensically important insects, in partnership with proper collection and rearing techniques, and how to properly read and analyze scientific papers. The overall goal of the course is to gain an understanding of how forensic entomology is utilized in law and in the courtroom through learning to identify forensically important insects and analyzing their development to determine minimum post-mortem interval (m-PMI). These skills will be synthesized to analyze a mock crime scene and produce a case report.