Forensic Entomology - 2026 Animal ForensiCon with Dr. Samantha Sawyer
The 2026 Animal ForensiCon in Orlando, Florida
BUGS!!! Dr. Samantha Sawyer shares information about what we can and cannot learn from insects in crime scene investigations as well as the do's and don'ts of insect collection.
For more information about the Animal ForensiCon, visit https://animalforensics.vetmed.ufl.edu/training/2026-animal-forensicon/
Transcript
Dr. G:
2
:All right.
3
:First talk of the morning has been
done, and I have to say, I hate
4
:bugs- ... but I love entomology.
5
:Dr. Samantha Sawyer:
6
:Okay.
7
:Dr. G:
8
:So how about you let our audience
know who you are and what you do?
9
:Dr. Samantha Sawyer:
10
:I'm Dr.
11
:Samantha Sawyer, and I'm a board-certified
forensic entomologist, and I'm an
12
:assistant professor of forensic
science at the University of New Haven.
13
:So I do both teaching, research,
and I privately consult on the side.
14
:Dr. G:
15
:Excellent.
16
:Let's start with the basics.
17
:What is forensic entomology?
18
:Dr. Samantha Sawyer:
19
:Forensic entomology is the use
of insects in a legal setting
20
:to answer legal questions.
21
:So forensic entomology spans a
wide variety of different topics.
22
:The most common one is called medical
legal forensic entomology, which was
23
:the one in the workshop today, um,
which is involving death investigation,
24
:neglect, and abuse, and how insects
can answer questions around that.
25
:Primarily, forensic timelines,
trying to determine time of death
26
:estimations or time of neglect.
27
:Dr. G:
28
:People get this idea, right, like the CSI
effect and the stuff that they see on TV.
29
:So what are the myths and realities as
far as what you can tell from insects?
30
:Dr. Samantha Sawyer:
31
:So I think in forensic entomology,
the biggest myth is that we do
32
:what the medical examiner does.
33
:Like, we give that postmortem
interval estimation.
34
:Um, and, you know, sometimes outside of
the United States, you'll hear people
35
:use postmortem interval for entomology.
36
:But currently, since 2011, people have
really shifted to time of colonization
37
:estimates because we really do more
than just the postmortem interval.
38
:So it is also that idea where if insects
are colonizing a living individual, we
39
:can still come in and provide that time
of colonization estimate that gives
40
:the investigators that timeline still.
41
:Also, I think people assume
entomologists just exist in crime labs.
42
:We don't.
43
:We're mostly academics or doing
some other full-time job, and we
44
:do private consulting on the side,
so we all have our own private
45
:businesses and things like that.
46
:Um, there is one person out
of the Houston Crime Lab.
47
:Her name's Michelle Sanford,
and, um, she's awesome.
48
:And so she does that as her full-time
job, but all of the, the rest of us
49
:are doing it as private consulting.
50
:Dr. G:
51
:So it's not quite the, you know, you
go into, into the field and find a
52
:bug and say, "This has, this body
has been here for three days," right?
53
:Dr. Samantha Sawyer:
54
:Yeah, yeah.
55
:The, the classic, like Gil Grissom,
like- Right ... picks up the maggot.
56
:Yeah, no, it's definitely not that simple.
57
:Um, sometimes though, uh, it is
interesting 'cause people will
58
:get impressed 'cause you're
like, "Oh, it's this species."
59
:So I think there is still that
perception of it, but it's not
60
:like it is in the TV shows.
61
:Dr. G:
62
:What are the common mistakes
or things that people do when,
63
:when doing entomology samples?
64
:And I guess I'll preface it with , again,
I love entomology, and whenever there
65
:are bugs in a case, I get really excited.
66
:So what are the things that you see,
that if somebody's listening that
67
:does this kind of work, you know,
easy things that they can prevent?
68
:Dr. Samantha Sawyer:
69
:I think the biggest mistake that
individuals make is they will just take
70
:a maggot, they'll throw it in isopropyl
alcohol, and they'll ship it off.
71
:And that's good 'cause
you have the specimen.
72
:Um, sometimes people will just take
photos, and they think because sometimes
73
:you can be savvy and there's certain
species that you can look at and identify,
74
:that they think all you need is photos.
75
:So it can really limit what, um,
an entomologist could provide.
76
:Um, but I would say the biggest
thing is making sure that you hot
77
:water kill your insects, put them
in ethanol if you can, and then
78
:get them right to an entomologist.
79
:Dr. G:
80
:Excellent.
81
:Anybody interested in learning more
about entomology and how to make
82
:submissions and how to do things
right and getting, you know, like,
83
:the paperwork and everything required,
how can they get that information?
84
:Dr. Samantha Sawyer:
85
:I can take emails directly and
point individuals, either to
86
:a workshop that I'll be doing.
87
:Um, I regularly do online training.
88
:I do in-person training.
89
:Most of my job is really trying to
educate people on how they can use insect
90
:evidence, so I'm always happy to do that.
91
:And if I'm not doing a training currently,
I can direct you to someone who can
92
:give you the appropriate training
93
:Dr. G:
94
:Excellent.
95
:So how, where can people find you?
96
:Dr. Samantha Sawyer:
97
:You can email me either at my university
email at ssawyer@newhaven.edu,
98
:or you could do my case specific
email, which is sjsawyerfe@gmail.com.
99
:Dr. G:
100
:Excellent.
101
:Thank you, Dr.
102
:Sawyer for talking to us and
for this amazing presentation.
103
:Dr. Samantha Sawyer:
104
:Awesome.
105
:Thank you.
