Wanted: Dermestid (taxidermy) beeetles
Wisconsin
Contributors to this thread:
I want to clean up some skulls & bones.
Do any of you have a population of beetles?
I'd for sure cover the postage.
I have a big cattle water tub that I plan to cover the middle third with ply and the rounded outside thirds with screen for air flow. I have read up on the 'how to' and it seems simple enough.
...all I need is an ounce of bugs, and that is where one of you comes in!
Thanks in advance!
Maceration and maggots work for me and I've done over 100 skulls.
Thanks. How long does that take? Is it much different than rotting?
LOL - actually if you have a place outside protected from animals dragging of your prize and is shaded as to not have algea form it can go pretty quick. Put the skull in a black 5 gallon bucket of water, or a tote for larger skulls. The water keeps the tissue from drying and dillutes the blood. As the water evaporates the maggots and beetles eat the soft tissue. If you want, when the first batch of maggots hatch, poor off some of the water so they have more exposed tissue. You can also pull off the bottom jaw, the roof of the mouth, tongue and pop the eyeballs out. The eyes are the last thing to go and can leave a white chalky precipitate.
I typically let nature do most of the work and once most of the stuff is off I poor out the skull stew and change the water. This is where maceration does the rest. Four weeks is about right if your skull is caped and another 3-4 if not. Yes, you can start with an uncaped skull, but you will want to poor off the pile of hair that gets left behind.
You should be able to search on Bowsite for 'maceration' or 'skull whitening' to find other posts I've commented on for the simmering, whitening and sealing steps.
Oh BTW, it can be quite stinky, but dermisted Beatles are too and you have to continue to feed them. They're like pets that need maintenance and you have to clean their waste.
Thanks again. And then the maggots become flies?
A lot of Taxidermists do not like the beetles on there premises. They do not want them around there mounts that they are doing for good reason. Just a thought if you have mounts around.
That tub I mentioned in the OP would be out in the lean too back of the garage 150 feet from the house and securely screened. I don't want my bugs leaving or anything else in there.