2009 Annual Meeting Highlights —

NAFEA 2009 – Miami Beach, Florida, OceanPoint Resort — Click here to see some photos

The 7th Annual NAFEA Meeting was held in Miami, Florida at the Ocean Point Resort from July 16th-17th.  The meeting began Thursday morning with a welcome address from Dr. Jason Byrd, acting as both NAFEA president and conference host.  The Keynote Speaker, Dr. José Almirall then gave his talk entitled “Can Forensic Chemistry Assist Forensic Entomology?” which gave invaluable insight into how various chemical techniques (such as ion mobility and laser induced breakdown spectroscopy) can be used in the field analysis of volatiles and metals.  This was followed by a strong line-up of scientific talks that ranged in topics from assessing the landing behavior of flies to evaluating the validity of using pigs as a human model for entomological research purposes.

After the scientific portion of the day concluded, refreshments were served in the NAFEA Board Members after hours lounge in preparation for the night festivities.  The night portion of the conference began with the “Back to the 80’s” Beach Party, complete with karaoke, which was held on the pool deck of the Ocean Point Resort.  Many meeting attendees were able to attend the beach party in full out 80’s gear (see attached pictures) and many NAFEA members were able to provide the entertainment for the night, which opened with Dr. Mollie McIntosh’s impressive version of “Baby Got Back”.  The rest of the song list included the likes of Madonna, Journey, Guns and Roses, Bon Jovi and a Canadian rendition of “If I Had a Million Dollars”.  Fun was definitely had by all involved.

The second day consisted of another stellar line-up of scientific presentations, the poster session, and a talk given by Keynote Speaker Dr. Bruce Hyma, Chief Medical Examiner and Director of the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner Department, which addressed the various experiences he has had during his career.  The day concluded with the NAFEA Business Meeting followed by some much needed relaxing time at the beach.  That evening, some members enjoyed Mexican food and entertainment followed by salsa dancing, while other members retired to the Board Member lounge for after dinner drinks.  Regardless of what the day and evenings included, a great time was had by all socializing, networking, and spending time with fellow NAFEA members (new and old).

As your newly elected associate member representative, I would like extend a thank-you to Dr. Jason Byrd and other contributing members to hosting another momentous meeting.  I am confident that next years meeting, which is to be held in Windsor, Ontario, will follow suit to the series of great meetings that have been held over the years.

Jennifer Rosati
Associate Member Representative

Member News

Dr. Jeff Wells, NAFEA President, has been appointed Chair of the Department of Biology at West Virginia University!  Congrats, Jeff!

Dr. Mark Benecke, NAFEA International Member Representative, will soon be travelling to India.  He will "try to knot even more international ties in the name of FE" during his stay.  Also, he has offered to collect blow/flesh flies.  If you need flies from India, feel free to let him know ( forensic@benecke.com ).

Member Announcments

Online Forensic Entomology Course at Michigan State University - contact Dr. Rich Merritt (merrittr@mail.msu.edu) or Ryan Kimbirauskas (kimbira1@msu.edu)
by Dr. Rich Merritt and Ph.D. Student Ryan Kimbirauskas both members of the ABFE (American Board of Forensic Entomology)

Forensic Entomology Educational Site - Forensic Flies and Other Arthropods of Forensic Importance, Forensic Entomology Evidence Recovery Website
by Michelle Phillips

Forensic Entomology at the XXIIIrd International Congress of Entomology - by Ian Dadour, Center for Forensic Science, University of Western Australia

The international meeting was held at the International Congress Centre in Durban South Africa from 5th July to 12th July 2008.  This was the first time that the conference was held in Africa. The theme of the conference was "Celebrating Entomology: Contributions to Modern Science" and hosted by the Entomological Society of Southern Africa.  The opening ceremony was a gala event with many different South African musical and dancing themes.  It was further enhanced with a speech by the South African Minister for Science Minister Mosibudi Mangena who dedicated the opening section of his talk to Forensic Entomology and its social impact. Special mention was made of Dr Mervyn Mansell and his contribution to solving the worst serial crime in South Africa comprising 69 victims and the conviction of Moses Sithole.

There were 2 main sessions dedicated to forensic entomology and a smaller spill-over session.  An opening address was presented by Rob Hall (USA) on ethical issues when presenting entomological evidence in court.  A series of papers were presented on various topics including blow fly oviposition, the significance of weather data, the DNA identification of blow flies, modelling insect development, some ecology based papers on decomposition in cars, a DVD on how to sample and some interesting case studies.

A list of presentations and posters related to forensic entomology can be downloaded here.


Dr. Mark Beneke recently published a new paper.  It can be found at:  http://wiki.benecke.com/index.php?title=2008_Entomologie_heute:_What_is_the_Edge_of_a_Forest%3F

Recent Forensic Entomology Paper Announcments

Wells, J.D., J.R. Stevens, in press (scheduled for volume 53. 2008, available online). Applications of DNA-based methods in forensic entomology. Annual Review of Entomology.

A one-time, free download (for personal use only) is available at: http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/eprint/IFbkEVCIVVxvUM5rMdiK/
full/10.1146/annurev.ento.52.110405.091423