Mealworms used to digest other animals bodies

[REPTILIAN-KMAN]

As some of you know i collect bones, skeletons and heads from animals and have a large collection.
Recently i have wanted to start to deflesh the dead bodies of natural dead animals !!!
And a mate suggested i use my mealworms for this !!!!!

by using insects ( mealworms ) they can deflesh down to the smallest bone and leave no traces on it !!!!

i used this on the weekend on a small pigs head and all but the skin and bone remained !!!

anyone know of anything better ( insect wise ) to use than mealworms that are available

 

[kat2005dodi]

Ants nest

 

[CHEWY]

I tried using maggots on a RBBS. Unforturnately, it rained (C'mon, Iwasn't doing this inside) and it got pretty manky.
I think they should do a pretty good job it is kept dry and you get a large enough colony of maggots.
Not sure what species of fly would work best. I just went for pot luck of what ever species came along.

 

[Laghairt]

Dermestid Beetles are used specifically for this purpose. I sometimes get them in cricket tubs.

 

[Tassie97]

they say hang it in a tree near a wasp nest i think but i dont know how u will get wasps if you dont wanna do that hope i helped

 

[GeckoJosh]

Dermestid Beetles are used specifically for this purpose. I sometimes get them in cricket tubs.

Are they those tiny little black beetles that kinda look like pint sized "mealworm" beetles?

they say hang it in a tree near a wasp nest i think but i dont know how u will get wasps if you dont wanna do that hope i helped

Wasps eat carrion?

 

[Laghairt]

Yep that's them.

 

[GeckoJosh]

Yep that's them.

Cool Il try and start a colony next time I notice some
Cheers

 

[K3nny]

Wasps eat carrion?

last time i checked they ate smaller inverts (esp. caterpillars if im going by docos)
a quick google proved otherwise

 

[eitak]

My brothers used to put sharks heads on top of meat/bull ants nest we had in our backyard - worked a treat!!!

 

[marcmarc]

Speak to your local museum, you might even find out where to get the right bugs.

 

[Elapidae1]

I think youll find that allowing insects to deflesh is not the best way at all and if your an avid collector and want a long term quality collection I would suggest you look into it a bit deeper. I don't know correct methods myself but have been told first hand from an extremely good taxidermist that it is not a good method.

Maybe PM Jamie (Pythoninfinite) I'm fairly certain he dealt with reptile specimens in the WA museum and may have at least picked up some usefull hints on other preservation methods.

 

[REPTILIAN-KMAN]

mealworm beetles are the easy to come by so thats why i asked i posted this thread yesterday just before i left work so i didnt finish it off or explain, the sydney musuem defleshs all there exibits by using insects and beetles and but i cant seem to get throught to the right person to ask what they use!!!

i know when i was in high school an Ape or Monkey of some kind had died at toronga Zoo and it was brought to our school with beetles as bio students watched them feed and i know they kept a hand of this animal in the science frezzer they then distroyed the beetles this was told by one of the senior sceince teachers !!

i will try them out this weekend on a large rat and see how they go on it i still have all the beetles from the pigs head !!!

 

[GeckoJosh]

last time i checked they ate smaller inverts (esp. caterpillars if im going by docos)
a quick google proved otherwise

Yeah thats what I thought

 

[Jimbobulan]

I read a post like this not long ago, someone wanted to deflesh a croc head and another member suggested letting it soak in water with washing powder. Apparently the enzimes decompose it faster ill try and find it.

Found it!

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/...ot-school-morning-155615/?highlight=croc+head