Review of: Forensic Entomology: The Utility of Arthropods in Legal Investigations

Abstract

Abstract Insects and related arthropods are the most abundant organisms on the planet Earth and found in almost all conceivable habitats, including those associated with human inhabitation. These animals are intimately involved as major players in sustaining ecological functions and ecosystem processes. Accordingly, these arthropods are often found associated with human activities, including homicide, as we encounter them in our daily lives. Forensic entomology is the application of entomological evidence to resolving litigation (civil cases) and solving crimes, most often those of violence and death (medicocriminal cases). This book, Forensic Entomology: The Utility of Arthropods in Legal Investigations, focuses on the criminological application of entomology and provides a smorgasbord of medicocriminal entomology and associated practices prepared by leading practicing scientists in this and related disciplines. This is the first comprehensive treatise of medicolegal entomology to bring together archival and new information for forensic practitioners since publication of Smith's A Manual of Forensic Entomology (1986).