Blog

2025/05/09 The May holidays are over and we are getting back to our normal work mode. Since I go to Uenohara every week to give lectures, I have quite a bit of time to read on the train on my way to and from work. I recently finished reading “Forensic Entomology Investigator,” and I wanted to read the second book by the same author. Looking at the references, there are several textbooks on entomology, and the author seems to have a good understanding of entomology, so the book is very realistic. I have been interested in forensic entomology for a long time and had purchased some books on the subject, but I had not read them. I decided to read it here and there. I have now started reading “The Casebook of a Forensic Entomologist,” which, unlike the aforementioned novel (fiction), is a non-fiction book written by a university professor. I found the name of Paul Catts on page 29 or so. I have actually met this person before. Not only have I met him, but I have had a few drinks with him and played horseshoes with him. The story goes back to 1988.

I met Dr. Brown of Washington State University (WSU) at the International Congress of Entomology held in Vancouver, Canada (1988). I had been studying parasitic wasps of the same genus (Ascogaster) as his in my research material ‘parasitoid’, so he came and listened to my poster presentation and we hit it off for a while. I was asked, “Why don't you stop by WSU on your way home?” I had already booked my return ticket early, so I said I would visit another time and parted ways with him. We kept in touch, and a few years later, I came to WSU for a short stay of two months. I left my family in Japan and stayed alone, so Dr. Brown and his family often played with me during vacations. They invited me over to their house for BBQ, and we played volleyball and horseshoes with friends. One of those friends was Dr. Paul Catts, a professor in the Entomology Department at WSU, who was especially good friends with Dr. Brown and often came to the Lab. At that time, I had never discussed insects with Paul and had no idea what his specialty was. Years after I returned to the U.S., I learned that he was a well-known forensic entomologist and a leader in the US group. He was also one of the authors of ‘Forensic Entomology in Criminal Investigations’ in the Annual Review of Entomology (1992), so I knew that he was the foremost expert at that time. He passed away a few years later (1996), and I did not get to meet him during my next stay in 2000. I can still picture his fearless face.

2023/08/15 The wind tunnel (50x50cm, 1.5m long) was completed in 2007 with a research project budget from Dr. Hisashi Nemoto of Saitama Prefecture Expt Station. It has contributed to several projects, and recently, Dr. Miyamoto (now at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology) conducted an experiment on the theme of "The Role of Visual Stimuli in the Orientation Behavior of the smaller tea tortrix" which had produced series of good results. The main features of the system are that the air in the tunnel is purified by an activated charcoal filter before flowing through it, and the air speed can be controlled from 10 to 50 cm/sec. Even under low-humidity conditions in winter season, experiments can be conducted in midwinter because the room is equipped with a large humidifier. As for the stability of the airflow, we have made several efforts to create a laminar airflow. So, if you are interested or planning to build a wind tunnel system, please come and see it. We have to create airflow using the air conditioner of that room or facility, so we have to consider the flow path on a case-by-case basis. When we had no choice but to build a new wind tunnel, we attached the wind tunnel outlet to the exhaust port of the air conditioner, so that the air flow could be controlled by a valve. This system was just right for our desired wind speed and we have been using it for a long time. I have a few more know-hows that I would be happy to discuss with you. By the way, the most expensive wind tunnel I have ever seen (for insect experiments only, of course) is the one owned by the Chemical Ecology Group of the Max Planck Institute in Germany. As I recall, it was described as being capable of conducting experiments at wind speeds of 1 m/sec even in midwinter.