Dr Martin Hall
Disease and dead bodies drive our insect parasite expert to investigate the lives of flies.
Early aspirations
Growing up in Zanzibar and Kenya, Dr Hall was exposed to a fantastic variety of insects. It wasn’t just the beauty that captivated him though, and he became interested in how insects act as parasites on animals and humans. Some fly larvae can be incredibly specific in their habitats, for example living only in the nostrils of camels or in the stomachs of rhinos.
Since joining the Museum, Dr Hall has also become involved in forensic entomology, studying the insects that colonise dead bodies. He has consulted with the police on more than 150 criminal cases and is called as an expert witness in court. One of his aims is to improve standards in forensic entomology, advancing the science.
Handling human remains
Determining the developmental stage of flies on a body allows Dr Hall to give the police a minimum time since death. It’s only a minimum because it may take a while for flies to find bodies, especially in certain conditions such as cold or burial.
As well as aiding the police in casework, Dr Hall researches the effects of these conditions on the colonisation and development of flies.
Flies are surprisingly good at seeking out animal and human cadavers, as laboratory and field experiments show. Even hidden in a suitcase, flies can colonise a body by laying eggs through the zips or by larvae crawling inside once hatched on the surface.
Preserving life
Dr Hall still researches parasites, using innovative techniques to take laboratory precision into the field. By carefully monitoring the behaviour of flies in the field and using traps, he is looking for weaknesses that can be exploited to control parasites, such as colours or odours that attract or repel them.
He also studies how parasites spread. One such insect is Wohlfahrtia magnifica, one of his favourite flies to study. While it is not a pleasant creature, with the larvae feeding on the flesh of live animals and humans, he admires its ability to survive and even extend its range in the Mediterranean region, despite our best efforts to control it.
