Various flies and certain beetles are typical visitors to dead bodies, but the blowfly in its larval stages is particularly useful in death investigations. The fly is extremely sensitive to odors associated with decomposition. Some biologists estimate that within 15 minutes of a person's death, the insect can detect the corpse—which serves as a potential incubator, hiding place, and feeding station all in one. For insects that eat flesh, or whose larvae do, what better place to lay your eggs than in a rotting human body?

With that in mind, what comes next is a pretty gruesome process. Once the fly finds a body, it will settle down and lay eggs in an opening—often in the face or genitals, or inside