Lab reflection

Dakota desjarlais
Lab reflection

Over the course of the experiment, the fresh pork shoulder turned into a disgusting piece of meat. On the first day the pork shoulder was nice and fresh, they next time we went out 2 days later the pork shoulder looked leather and was covered in maggot larvae  and flies and other insects. As the days went on the pork shoulder got smaller and smaller because it was decomposing, eventually born started to smell and it really stunk.

Some of the specific changes we observed of the pork shoulder was that it went from fresh looking to a leathery texture, it also stunk. Another change we observed is that it was getting smaller because it was being consumed by insects like blow flies, wasps, and maggot larvae. We collected some maggots and other insects but we never got to look at them.

When I compare my results to the actually data it came out almost accurate. There were days were we didn't take down enough information so because of those days my results weren't completely accurate but very close. This data really helped us pinpoint what day we put the pork shoulder out, just like it would if it was a dead body.

Forensic entomology as a crime solving tool is very valuable. The information you can obtain just from bugs on a body could potentially pinpoint the exact date of death and it could also pinpoint a person to a crime science. Forensic entomology is very important when trying to solve a crime.