Speaking of bugs - anyone use the 'carcass beetles'

[AJMD429]

I was going to order some of the carcass-eating beetles to clean deer skulls - anyone here use them...?

[Old Savage]

A local taxidermist used them, I have seen quite a few done with them. I like the result. Reminds you of a skull found in the parched desert.

[Batman1939]

I used to operate a dermestid beetle-colony operation in conjunction with a Vertebrate Museum at a University. They seem to do best in a fairly warm, dry environment. It is actually the larval form which does the work of cleaning skeletons. Dermestids are preferred for this work because they can clean the smallest skeletons without causing some of the damage (e.g. bone deformation & disarticulation) caused by other methods (e.g. boiling). This is especially true with very small, delicate skeletons like bats, shrews, etc.

You can undoubtedly locate sources on the internet which will describe methods of culturing the "bugs". I would add, however, that keeping them does require some commitment and special considerations for best performance. You'd want a secure place to keep them; if they escape into your home or other buildings, they might take to eating things you care about. Adults can fly so any container needs to be designed to prevent this. They are not easy to keep in a real small space as they need adequate room to complete their life cycle; thus new food sources for egg-laying, feeding sites for larval, cotton batting or animal hair for pupation, etc. A final consideration is that odor can be a serious problem, depending upon where they are kept. They do best on "somewhat dried" carcasses with viscera and brains removed. If you just toss an entire carcass into the colony you are going to have problems with growing mold, fungi, etc.

Look under "dermestids" or Coleoptera: Dermestidae for further info. Even the Smithsonian Museum may have info as they undoubtedly use these critters.

Finally, I see you are looking for a source of beetles. You could probably look under/in some carcasses of road-killed animals. The beetles are small, fairly oval in shape. They have a "felty-looking underside" (which in most species is white or nearly white). See photos on web-Google Images probably would have some.

Good luck !

[Batman1939]

Say-after my last "windy" response I reread your query and saw that you are looking to clean deer skulls. With this in mind I thought I'd add the following: since my retirement I no longer keep "bugs" and I do shoot a few deer each year. I've taken to cleaning the skulls in the following manner and it works OK for my purpose as I mostly just hang the skulls on the wall my shop .

Skin head, remove eyes, brain, tongue and most of the major muscle groups. The brain can be mostly removed through use of a hook-shaped piece of wire inserted through the foramen magnum (big hole in rear of skull). "Stir" the brain and hook-out whatever parts are willing to come, a hose may allow you to flush out some of the larger parts. Then toss the head into a large water-filled pot on an adjustable hotplate (or you could use a slow-cooker if your significant other wouldn't object-though larger skulls won't fit most such cookers) and simmer for a few hours. You don't want to boil this thing as that might tend to cause disarticulation. Periodically remove the skull and try to scrape away remaining flesh; repeat this sequence as needed until skull is fairly clean. You may then soak the skull in some dilute ammonium hydroxide (or similar degreasing agent) to clean it up. Some folks also add hydrogen peroxide solution to the final soak to "whiten'-this tends to make skulls unnaturally bleached in my opinion and can obliterate the sutures which add definition to the final prep. Also, too much peroxide may cause the skull to become "chalky".

In sum, if you're just planning to do a few skulls a year this method may suffice.

You could also consider maceration: take the skinned head, put it in a container of water in the sun for a couple of weeks, remove water, hit head with stream of water, much of flesh will wash away, continue process as needed.

Also: burial--enclose head in wire cage and bury until covered with a few inches of soil, leave it a year or so (depending on your soil environment). dig it up and wash with water from hose, It may be clean, if not-rebury and repeat as necessary.

Obviously, these are methods that require some experience and fine-tuning to work well. Good luck !

[KCSO]

Here we use the crawdad method. Find a pond with crawdads and tie a rope to the horns and throw it in, a few days later if comes out sparkling.

[Sixgun]

Here we use the crawdad method. Find a pond with crawdads and tie a rope to the horns and throw it in, a few days later if comes out sparkling.

Ha! I like that--redneck style I usually just take a 60 penny nail and drive it through the eye and into a fencepost, about 6 inches from the ground. It may take a month or so but...........it comes out nice. A little brushing with some bleach and water and that baby is ready for the mantle. I've done foxes, deer and one elk this way--------cheap!-----Sixgun