A missing person was reported in northern Illinois on March 25. Law enforcement authorities were unable...
A missing person was reported in northern Illinois on March 25. Law enforcement authorities were unable to locate the individual. On April 21, a hiker in the same area entered an abandoned cabin. There was an especially foul odor in the kitchen area. Upon opening the old, unplugged refrigerator, he found a decomposing body, identified later forensically as the missing individual. The forensic entomologist received maggots collected from the scene and estimated that onset of the insect activity corresponded approximately to April 14. The condition of the body was such that the individual had been dead for more than seven days. What factors could be responsible for the delay of insect activity between March 25 and April 14? Consider the location and time of year in your answers. Use the principles of chemical kinetics to explain your answers.