Member-only story
Death Bugs You
— or —
The Worms Crawl in…
Ok, poor title, but it’s hard to be glib about personal putrefaction and corpse consumption by invertebrate hordes, which is what I’m about to do.
More than a decade ago I entered the world of forensic science as a forensic entomologist, wrenched from the green world by my ecological roots and thrust somewhat reluctantly into the disconcerting realm of shallow grave recovery. My approach to forensic entomology is embedded within a framework of thoughts about more general ecologically-based problems. And even if the forensic importance comes from the living insects, the ecology is based on a putrefying body and thus the accompanying assault across your senses. So dab a little Vicks TM under your nostrils and let’s take a walk.
When you die your body begins changing right away. Remember that each of your cells is a little powerhouse, a factory, working hard to maintain itself against biological entropy. When that process breaks down through natural or nefarious action, the chemicals of decomposition arise immediately. What was once a living creature has become a pile of resources for a relatively short-lived ecological community that will undergo a dynamic pathway of rapid consumption and predictable change. It’s as much an ecological succession as a pond filling into hardwood forest.
