The author uses actual cases to show how a knowledge of insects and their habitats allows forensic entomologists to furnish investigators with crucial evidence about crimes. Even when a body has been reduced to a skeleton, insect evidence can often provide the only available estimate of the post-mortem interval, or time elapsed since death, as well as clues to whether the body has been moved from the original crime scene, and whether drugs have contributed to death.

This collection aims to provide a broad overview of the field of forensic entomology for forensic scientists of all backgrounds. The first chapter gives an overview of general entomology and arthropod biology, while successive chapters discuss the use of entomology in determining time and cause of death. Areas covered include laboratory rearing of forensic insects, aquatic insects, buried bodies computer modelling of insect growth, DNA techniques and the use of insects as toxicological indicators. The final chapter, written by Robert D. Hall, considers the role of the forensic entomologist as expert witness.

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This absorbing book ranges over cases from history, prehistory and mythology to the present day. The author is a distinguished forensic entomologist who has been involved in a large number of investigations. Aimed at the non-specialist, this book examines the links between the insect world, particularly the Diptera (fly family), and the human race from a range of perspectives - scientific, criminal, medical and philosophical. This is a very readable and non-technical book, focussing on the author's own experiences over 25 years of practice as a forensic entomologist.

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