Seminars

#2609 The (fl)eye witness

how maggots can solve a crime

Speaker: Julia Kasper

Date: Saturday 16th May 2026  10am-1pm

Venue: Waikanae Presbyterian Church Hall, 43 Ngaio Road, Waikanae

Jullia Kasper is the Lead Curator of Invertebrates at Te Papa Tongarewa and a trained entomologist from Berlin, specialising in diptera taxonomy and medical entomology (parasitology and forensic entomology). Currently she is revising several fly groups and their association with subterranean habitats, such as caves. A large part of her work is improving research and quality standards in forensic entomology in NZ. She has worked on forensic cases in Germany and NZ, subcontracted by the NZ institute for Public Health and Forensic Science (formerly ESR). She recently represented the NZ Police at the Australia/NZ Police Forensic Entomology Technical Advisory Group meeting.

Most people know forensic entomology from crime shows, where insects help pinpoint a victim’s time of death. It does far more. It shows if a body was moved, reveals whether wounds occurred before or after death, detects drugs or poisons, uncovers neglect, and even traces the origin of narcotics. Outside the courtroom, forensic entomology has civil uses too; from tracking food contamination to investigating pesticide misuse. In these cases, insects can expose whether contamination happened in the factory or were staged later. In this seminar Julia will explore not only the history, methods and interesting case studies of forensic entomology, but also shed light on the glaring gaps in NZ.

Improving Post-Mortem Interval accuracy (the estimated time that has passed since a person died) means collecting local data on carrion insects; their species, succession patterns, and seasonal development. The top priorities are measuring development rates of the most common species and linking case data to environmental context to drive targeted, impactful research.