Bugs & crime fighting go together
Forensic entomologist amazes MEMS students with details about many insect species
BY AMY ROSEN Staff Writer

Louis Sorkin

MANALAPAN — Because October is a month when creepy, crawly bugs are often the norm, Louis Sorkin's visit to the Manalapan Englishtown Middle School (MEMS) two weeks before Halloween could not have come at a better time for some eighth-grade students.

Sorkin, who is a forensic entomologist, treated students in Donna Falk's "CSI-MEMS" and Susan Strugibenetti's "Career Education and Workplace Readiness" classes to a special presentation about how insects can help solve mysteries.

According to Falk, her "Crime Scene Investigation MEMS" class is one of the few middle school forensic science classes around. Forensic science classes may be offered in some high schools.

The class is based on the popularity of the "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" television series that airs on CBS, and Falk involves the students in practical problem solving, using the study of many types of science concepts such as biology, chemistry, serology, entomology, physics and the life cycle to solve fictional crimes in a fun and educational way.

PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Manalapan Englishtown Middle School students (l-r) Joe Bonneau, Kathryn Dilts and Christopher DiGioia get a close look at some of the bugs that forensic entomologist Louis Sorkin displayed during his presentation.

In a typical class Falk sets up a crime scene for her students to investigate and solve.

"The students might look at fibers under the microscope and see how they burn," Falk explained, "which teaches them to appreciate how flammable the synthetic materials that we wear are and that they should be careful."

The students also study fingerprinting and learn that everyone's fingerprints are different, even identical twins.

In another assignment they try to identify a "mysterious white powder," which is usually corn starch, baking soda or baking powder.

To prepare for Sorkin's visit, Falk showed her students a clip similar to those in the "CSI" show and presented them with the challenge of estimating the time of an individual's death using insects.

Falk said, "When one of my students told me her uncle is a forensic entomologist, I was surprised because it's not a very common profession. I asked her to invite him and was thrilled when he said yes."

Forensic entomologist Louis Sorkin displays the area on his arm where he allows bedbugs to bite him intentionally. Sorkin spoke with pupils in the "CSI-MEMS" and "Career Education and Workplace Readiness" classes at Manalapan Englishtown Middle School.

Entomology is the branch of zoology that focuses on the study of insects.

Forensic entomologists examine bugs that are found at crime scenes and other locations. Because of these scientists' knowledge of the life cycle and habits of a variety of insects, they can provide important clues to help solve mysteries and crimes.

The field of forensic entomology is gaining in popularity largely due to the "CSI" television series. Police may employ bug-sniffing dogs to pick up odors from eggs and immature bugs that people cannot usually detect.

Sorkin said the real profession is quite different from the TV show.

As part of his presentation of "An Introduction to Forensic Entomology - It's Not Just Dead Bodies," Sorkin narrated a slide show and brought photos of insects, as well as preserved samples of different species of bugs such as maggots from a corpse, spiders, and insects that people eat as delicacies in some cultures.

"Tarantulas taste like crabmeat and dried grasshoppers are really quite tasty," Sorkin told the gasping students, teachers and reporter. "People eat them like popcorn. Some people from Thailand and Australia enjoy eating caterpillars and beetles."

Sorkin's career as a forensic entomologist has taken him in several directions. Through his business, Entsult Associates, in Rye Brook, N.Y., he helps solve problems that involve insect infestations in structures (urban entomology), but a lot of his time is spent on product control for items that are imported from other countries. By examining the insects and damage done on imported materials, he can identify the country of origin and offer advice as to how to control potential insect infestations brought to the United States from other parts of the world.

According to Sorkin, nuts are a common food product where bugs are often found.

"You should always look inside nuts after cracking the shells before you eat them," Sorkin advised the students. "Lots of insects like to live in nuts, especially tiny caterpillars."

Sorkin also brought wood that beetles had once lived in and he brought the preserved remains of those beetles and their larvae (insects that have not matured). He showed photos of damage to a book that beetles had bored holes into and explained that years ago such activity on the part of insects caused many wooden ships to sink.

In addition, Sorkin discussed how he is called upon by medical examiners in New York and New Jersey to assist in criminal investigations by estimating an individual's time of death through an analysis of the insects found on a corpse.

He brought photos of a pig that had died and was shown in different stages of decomposition. By examining the kinds of insects found feeding on the pig and where they were located on the corpse, and by studying the life cycle of particular insects from birth to adulthood, forensic entomologists can determine the time of the animal's death.

Falk later said the pig photos paralleled a "crime scene re-enactment" she conducted with a decaying piece of liver in her backyard, until her dogs got to it. Her students studied the photos in her CSI class and learned many scientific lessons including, "plan for the unexpected," the teacher said with a smile.

Sorkin relayed a story of an unusual case in which he helped puzzled detectives in Manhattan determine why a crime scene had blood splattered all over the walls, similar to a crime scene typically found in a shooting, but no gunshot wounds were found on the victim. A lots of cockroaches were found at the scene.

After studying the habits of the cockroaches, Sorkin determined that the hordes of cockroaches had fed on the victim's blood and then defecated on the walls, leaving a pattern that looked much like a spray of blood.

Sorkin also works at the Museum of Natural History in New York City where he looks after a collection of spiders that were taken from Fort Dix in New Jersey in 1971. He also conducts a science and nature program in which children in local schools get to attend class at the museum.

In addition, Sorkin does a lot of work with pest management companies and is presently studying the habits of bedbugs, which he said are inappropriately named because they are not just found in beds.

"They are often found along the edges of the carpet, on furniture and headboards, pipes and walls in addition to beds. Bedbugs are reddish-brown, and although they are usually described as being about a quarter inch (6.35 millimeters) long, they are about 1 millimeter and pale colored when born," he told the children.

He said bedbugs sometimes appear to be bright red, and when they are squished they smell like green apples.

Everyone was amazed when Sorkin showed a photo of his collection of hundreds of bedbugs feeding on his own blood, leaving a round red welt on his arm the size of the diameter of the jar he keeps them in. The jar is covered with a mesh that allows the bedbugs to suck his blood once a month without escaping when he inverts the jar over his arm.

Sorkin said bedbugs can carry bacteria and viruses, but they do not transfer disease. The only danger in being bitten by bedbugs is if the victim is allergic to the bites, which occurs on rare occasions.

The second time a person is bitten is when he would be most likely to get an allergic reaction. The most common reaction to bedbug bites is usually swelling and itching at the site, which can cause irritability.

Sorkin said the number of bedbugs has been on the rise in the past 10 years, but since they do not carry disease, some health departments do not consider them to be a health problem. He advised visiting www.bedbugger.com for more information about bedbugs.

Brandon Coull, 13, an eighth-grade student in Falk's class, said of Sorkin's presentation, "It was weird. I thought it was interesting that the bedbugs eat off of him and suck the blood out of his arm, and how he eats bugs. It was interesting that the beetles go into books and houses and can be anywhere."

When asked how he likes the "CSIMEMS" class, Brandon replied, "It's very interesting to learn about how crimes are solved and how they use blood and ink and fingerprinting to find the perpetrator of the crimes."

MEMS Principal Robert Williams and Assistant Principal Paul DeMarco were impressed with Sorkin's presentation.

"The 'CSI' course is fascinating and Mr. Sorkin's talk was fascinating," DeMarco said. "It's really bringing science alive."

Contact Amy Rosen at

arosen@gmnews.com