1

We have been looking recently into the ways that we can age a corpse. Today we are going to look at how insect matter can, along with the other indicators, help us tell how long a body has been dead.

What you need to do

Task oneForensic Entomology mobile. When babies are young they have mobiles hanging over their cots to help stimulate and educate them. We’re going to make some to hang in the lab to remind us of the insects take over a corpse.

You need a cut out of a corpse to hang the entire mobile from. A timeline of days and decomposition events and finally some cut outs of the organisms you will find at various stages of the timeline.

You can photocopy images and stick them onto card or draw them yourselves, they must be true to time and size though.

Task twoHow could we practically investigate the succession of insects on a rotting corpse?

Plan a hypothetical ethical (no real corpses) investigation into practically looking at insect succession of a dead body.

As a simulation for a corpse you can assume I would give you a large piece of meat to use to attract insect life.

Consider what variables you would need to keep the same, if you didn’t keep these variables constant how would this affect the rate at which insect life moved in?

Anything you don’t finish will be homework due for Monday.

“‘Who saw him die?’

‘I’, said the fly

‘With my little eye,

I saw him die.’”

anon

Forensic Entomologywhat bugs can tell us

A2 BIOLO

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9 O

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200

8

What attracts insects? Do the same things attract all insects? Do all flowers attract all bees? Do all corpses attract all flies? Does a corspe stay the same or does it change? Will those changes bring different waves of insect life?