Jeff Tomberlin

Areas of Expertise

• Decomposition ecology
• Forensic entomology
• Black soldier fly
• Insects as food and feed
• Integrated pest management in confined animal facilities

Professional Summary

Jeffery K. Tomberlin, Ph.D. is a Professor, Texas A&M AgriLife Research Fellow, & Presidential Impact Fellow in the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University. He is also the principal investigator of the Forensic Laboratory for Investigative Entomological Sciences (F.L.I.E.S.) Facility (forensicentomology.tamu.edu) at Texas A&M University. Since arriving at Texas A&M University in 2002, 36 scientists, including 7 Fulbright scholars, from around the world have visited his lab. He has also served as the chair for 22 Ph.D. and 22 M.S. students. To date, he has edited 8 books, published 28 book chapters, and +250 articles which have been cited more than +12,750.

In 2025, Tomberlin was ranked the No. 5 academic scholar in agricultural entomology in the world by Scholar GPS. The ranking was based on his number of publications and the exceptional quality and impact of his work and citations.

Selected Publications

1. Tomberlin, J.K. and P.H. Adler. 1998. Colonization and decomposition of rat carrion in water and on land in South Carolina. J. Med. Entomol. 35: 704-709.

2. Tomberlin, J.K., D.C. Sheppard, and J.A. Joyce. 2002. A comparison of selected life history traits of the black soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) when reared on three diets. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer. 95: 379-387.

3. Tomberlin, J.K., M.E. Benbow, A. Tarone, and R. Mohr2. Invited paper 2011. Evolutionary ecology approaches in decomposition research enhances forensics: entomology as a case example. Trends Ecol. Evol. 26: 53-55.

4. Tomberlin, J.K., R. Mohr2, M.E. Benbow, A.M. Tarone, and S. VanLaerhoven. Invited paper 2011. Forensic entomology response to National Research Council report on forensic sciences: a roadmap for bridging basic and applied research. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 56: 401-421.

5. Tomberlin, J.K., and A. Van Huis. 2020. Editorial- Black soldier fly from pest to ‘crown jewel’ of the insects as feed industry: An historical perspective. J. Insects Food Feed 6: 1-4.