Louis N. Sorkin, B.C.E.

President and Forensic Entomologist
Entsult Associates, Inc.

Lou Sorkin grew up in Westchester County, NY, and eastern Connecticut where he always had a keen interest in animals, especially arthropods and reptiles and amphibians. Teachers invited him to bring his animals to teach the younger children’s school classes. He graduated with an M.S. in Entomology from the University of Connecticut in 1978 and began his arachnological career in the Department of Entomology (now the Division of Invertebrate Zoology) at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. He pursued his interests in spiders and other arachnids, especially certain parasitic species and for the last 35 years, the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius. In 2020, he retired from the museum after 43 years of service. Lou incorporated his entomology consulting business, Entsult Associates, Inc., in the year 2000. He is a Board Certified Entomologist in Urban and Industrial Entomology, specializing in forensic studies. His interests include macro-photography, systematics, taxonomy and behavior of arachnids as well as natural history of arthropods in general, and for the past few years, bed bugs have become an important study animal. He fields phone inquiries and emails with pictures about insects and arachnids. Forensic entomology caught his interest and over the years he has been involved with many stored-product, urban and medico-criminal cases for which many institutions have consulted Lou for advice. Medical groups and physicians, law enforcement personnel, and pest management industries have contact him because cases involve bites, stings, infestations, and forensic studies of insects and other arthropods. The hospitality industry plus real estate organizations have contacted him about bed bugs and other pests. He also consults with art conservators of museums and art galleries when arthropods pests are a concern. He teaches recertification courses for the pest management industry and has been an invited speaker at the New York Pest Expo for many years. Television and movie producers have contacted him regarding scripts if arthropods are an integral part of the storyline. He has co-authored various papers and articles that deal with spiders, flies, mites and ticks, and has a special interest in entomophagy (insects as food).