COLUMBIA, Mo. — For a man with a truly curious profession, Robert D. Hall, 59, has a relaxed way of talking about his work.

Dr. Hall, who studies insects and how they live off dead humans, is associate vice chancellor for research at the University of Missouri. He is also a lawyer, a retired Army colonel and a forensic entomologist, meaning that he evaluates insect evidence to help solve crimes. Think of him as Sherlock Holmes with a fly swatter and tweezers.

“The interesting thing about forensic entomology,” Dr. Hall said recently, “is that if you ask insects the right question, they give an honest answer. They’ve got no motive to lie. Forensic entomologists could be used to great benefit in more criminal matters than they are today.”

Q. What exactly does a forensic entomologist do?

A. We’re applied biologists. In criminal cases, whenever a dead body is found, law enforcement will immediately try to establish two things: the identity of the victim and their time of death. Forensic entomologists will look at the insects on the corpse — their size, their origins, their species — to see if there are clues that might explain the death.