Insects have survived for perhaps as long as 350 million years. Some insects have been preserved as fossils or trapped in fossilized tree sap called amber (right). The Field Museum has one of the largest collections of insects in amber. This collection is extremely valuable to scientists wishing to discover how insect groups have changed over time. Insects like the cockroach (bottom right) have not changed dramatically in their basic body plan since the time of the dinosaurs. Other species have evolved much more recently. Insects have also been used to ascertain the time of death in many crimes. Bernard Greenberg, a BugCamp lecturer, is an expert of forensic entomology.

A crane fly (family Tipulidae) preserved in amber. Photo courtesy of Rupert Wenzel. Something like a cockroach has been on this earth since the time of the dinosaurs. Photo courtesy of Jim Rowan.