Approaching the first month of decomp

15 June 2007: The majority of active insects consist of silphid (carrion) beetles hunting soft-bodied invertebrates, black dump fly maggots (predators of other maggots), various beetles interested in dry tissues, miscellaneous yet-to-be-determined minute dung flies of the family Sphaeroceridae, 3 species of Sepsid flies (Enicomira, Sepsis, and Nemopoda), and 3 species of Piophilid flies (Piophila, Prochyliza, and 1 undet. genus). Sweeping over the bear yields mostly the small flies (Sphaeroceridae, Piophilidae, and Sepsidae).

The underside of the bear is still moist. This is where the black dump fly maggots and most of the carrion beetle larvae are. We are supposed to get rain this weekend, and that could change some of the activity dynamics. For instance, maggots and beetle larvae may move to the surface, or we may get a new generation of flies hitting the carcass.

13 June 2007: At this point, insect activity is greatly slowed and our efforts include mostly sweeping small flies from the carcass with an insect net, or as Laura is demonstrating we use forceps to nab beetles and beetle larvae from the surface of the carcass. We carefully lift the legs and head to expose the moist areas under the carcass where there is still some maggot activity, and invertebrate predators are still common.