Veterinary Entomology: It's all Fun & Games until Someone gets Lyme Disease contains frequently updated information for an introductory veterinary entomology course. 

I wrote this textbook with the goal of giving you up-to-date information on as many aspects of forensic science as possible. I will be adding information to this book as it comes out in the literature.

But first, a warning: this book contains subject matter, photos, and videos that cover subjects some may consider delicate. Be advised that you will be seeing pictures insects on and in animals, and reading about decomposition, disease, and other unfortunate subjects. You will find people don't appreciate you looking at these photos or talking about this subject while at dinner or in other situations. Be ready for some funny looks! 

How to Use This Book

Reading Questions

Each chapter and/or section I assign will come with several questions to answer peppered throughout the text.  These are your reading questions and need to be finished the Sunday before class. You will see these same questions (along with others) on your weekly quizzes and on the exams, so take note! These quizzes are also a part of your overall grade, and in order to get full credit you need to get these questions correct (I know I know, that seems obvious, right? Well, there are people who don’t seem to know this, so now I have to tell you. Lucky you!)

Links

I have linked to outside web pages and documents throughout this book. If you see a blue underlined section like this: "This is what a link looks like!" then you might want to click on it. Sometimes it's a database or other resource that you need to have. Other times it's just something that I think is neat. Now you know. 

Labs

This book is both your lecture text and your lab manual. You will be asked by your lab TAs to answer questions in the lab manual where appropriate, and you will need to use the manual for identification of your insects. During the exam, you will be given a hard copy of the key that you need, so be prepared!

Further Reading and Fun Stuff

At the very end of this book you will find a page that has a bunch of books and things listed. These are links to books I mention throughout the text, books I think you would like, and links to fun or useful forensic science things. I will keep this list updated as much as possible, so check back often!