Our Prep boys journeyed into the fascinating world of Forensic Entomology on Monday 24 May, thanks to Lower Sixth Former Ethan Ofosu.
During a brilliant lunchtime Zoom presentation for the boys, Ethan explained how the study of insects is used in criminal investigations—telling the story of forensic entomology from its early uses back in 1247 to modern-day cases like the famous Lobato case.
Ethan explained how forensic entomologists use the succession of species and individual species life cycles to help identify a time of death. Not to mention the many external factors that can affect insects on bodies, such as time of day (flies, like us, are diurnal and like to sleep at night!), aeration and temperature/season. The boys also discovered what attracts flies to a body in the first place and how bugs can be used to determine the location of death.
Speaking after the presentation, Ethan told us, “I really enjoyed sharing my knowledge of this field of forensics. It was a wonderful opportunity to, hopefully, inspire at least one of the boys to enter the world of forensics or maybe even become more interested in science as a whole because science is amazing and needs to be shared. When I was first getting interested in forensics, I would’ve really appreciated a talk by someone, so I am proud that I was able to do this.”
Ethan hopes to go into the field of forensics when he finishes school, possibly forensic toxicology, as he says, “It’s just too interesting not to.”
