Yesterday I found a dying mouse on the kitchen floor. I picked it up and put it outside to let nature take its course. This morning it had gone to mousey heaven and was covered with ants. A few minutes ago, I was out watering the garden and checked on the progress. The body is still there, still covered with ants but there’s a little mousey skull.

I’m guessing that entry to the dead body (and the yummy bits) is through the eyes, which explains why there’s still a furry body but a skull, and the tail is completely untouched. Is this because there’s no meat on the tail? And what happened to the fur on the skull? Admittedly I didn’t look too closely, the fur might be a halo around the skull but it’s hard to see with the ants around.

Divine Angel said:

Yesterday I found a dying mouse on the kitchen floor. I picked it up and put it outside to let nature take its course. This morning it had gone to mousey heaven and was covered with ants. A few minutes ago, I was out watering the garden and checked on the progress. The body is still there, still covered with ants but there’s a little mousey skull.

I’m guessing that entry to the dead body (and the yummy bits) is through the eyes, which explains why there’s still a furry body but a skull, and the tail is completely untouched. Is this because there’s no meat on the tail? And what happened to the fur on the skull? Admittedly I didn’t look too closely, the fur might be a halo around the skull but it’s hard to see with the ants around.

Unless there are holes through the skin and whatever is eating it is not capable of making one, then the mouth and anus are the usual ways invertebrates get into a carcass. I would imagine as there is little more than skin over the skull, once entry was gained the ants could easily cut it up and cart it away.

then the mouth and anus are the usual ways invertebrates get into a carcass. I

Must resist

Will fading

its always the ants. if the body is outside, that aboriginal bloke I found with his face ploughed into the dirt was heaving with ants when I found him.

Dropbear said:

then the mouth and anus are the usual ways invertebrates get into a carcass. I

Must resist

Will fading

Going in both ways here.
http://esperancewildlife.blogspot.com.au/2009/03/carrion-beetle-ptomaphila-lacrymosa.html

wookiemeister said:

its always the ants. if the body is outside, that aboriginal bloke I found with his face ploughed into the dirt was heaving with ants when I found him.

There are a lot of things that will eat a carcuss, some at the same time, others before or after when the main feeding rush has passed.

PermeateFree said:

wookiemeister said:

its always the ants. if the body is outside, that aboriginal bloke I found with his face ploughed into the dirt was heaving with ants when I found him.

There are a lot of things that will eat a carcuss, some at the same time, others before or after when the main feeding rush has passed.

Forensic entomology. Fascinating, yet horrifying.

Look for anything with ‘body farm’ in its title or precis.

yeah that’s what I don’t get with the bodies in the barrels thing

wouldn’t you just spray the bodies with some honey and then just nature take its course?

wookiemeister said:

yeah that’s what I don’t get with the bodies in the barrels thing

What i don’t get is that South Australia is a State which is comprised of about 85% bugger-all.

Yet, they couldn’t think of finding somewhere to dig some graves.

wookiemeister said:

yeah that’s what I don’t get with the bodies in the barrels thing

wouldn’t you just spray the bodies with some honey and then just nature take its course?

All you would need to do is strip the body and leave it in the bush, foxes would leave little but bones and any dogs would clean most of those up too.

OK, another (I think) insect question. There are some holes in the dirt outside the back door here at Casterton. Sandy floodplain stuff. But packs pretty hard in Summer and the secateur swallowing cracks are open at the moment. Anyway, a couple of hours ago when I walked from the car to the back door, my foot sort of subsided a bit. Then I saw the holes. I was then watering the citrus trees by bucket and thought….I’ll just pour some water down one of those and see what happens. Well, no critters came out blurting water. But a whole bucket of water went in. So there is some sort of nest under there, isn’t there….We’ve had European wasps here before, and I dug their nest out and it was huge. But their entry holes had sand piled up outside it. These are just flat on the ground. I thought they were spider holes until tonight.

Would anyone like to hazard a guess?

I might get out the spade in the morning and have a dig. Or I might pretend I didn’t find them.

PermeateFree said:

…foxes would leave little but bones…

That just triggered a memory – i had a dream last night that had a fox in it.

captain_spalding said:

wookiemeister said:

yeah that’s what I don’t get with the bodies in the barrels thing

What i don’t get is that South Australia is a State which is comprised of about 85% bugger-all.

Yet, they couldn’t think of finding somewhere to dig some graves.

With the lack of natural vegetation in the southern parts of that state, they would probably be seen from miles away.

PermeateFree said:

wookiemeister said:

yeah that’s what I don’t get with the bodies in the barrels thing

wouldn’t you just spray the bodies with some honey and then just nature take its course?

All you would need to do is strip the body and leave it in the bush, foxes would leave little but bones and any dogs would clean most of those up too.

the problem is that someone might find it

by leaving it under cover on your own property maybe under a tree the ants would find it quickly

I had a dead rabbit being stripped by ants. Cool I thought I will have some bones in a few days but the next day it was gone probably a fox.

buffy said:

OK, another (I think) insect question. There are some holes in the dirt outside the back door here at Casterton. Sandy floodplain stuff. But packs pretty hard in Summer and the secateur swallowing cracks are open at the moment. Anyway, a couple of hours ago when I walked from the car to the back door, my foot sort of subsided a bit. Then I saw the holes. I was then watering the citrus trees by bucket and thought….I’ll just pour some water down one of those and see what happens. Well, no critters came out blurting water. But a whole bucket of water went in. So there is some sort of nest under there, isn’t there….We’ve had European wasps here before, and I dug their nest out and it was huge. But their entry holes had sand piled up outside it. These are just flat on the ground. I thought they were spider holes until tonight.

Would anyone like to hazard a guess?

I might get out the spade in the morning and have a dig. Or I might pretend I didn’t find them.

Good chance they were dug by mice trying to get into the house.

captain_spalding said:

wookiemeister said:

yeah that’s what I don’t get with the bodies in the barrels thing

What i don’t get is that South Australia is a State which is comprised of about 85% bugger-all.

Yet, they couldn’t think of finding somewhere to dig some graves.

stupidity was a major factor with those numbskulls

I bet they’ll be out on the streets in no time

when I die i’ll be buried in my salt pyramid where no ant dare tread

wookiemeister said:

when I die i’ll be buried in my salt pyramid where no ant dare tread

Or snails. Or slugs.

wookiemeister said:

PermeateFree said:

wookiemeister said:

yeah that’s what I don’t get with the bodies in the barrels thing

wouldn’t you just spray the bodies with some honey and then just nature take its course?

All you would need to do is strip the body and leave it in the bush, foxes would leave little but bones and any dogs would clean most of those up too.

the problem is that someone might find it

by leaving it under cover on your own property maybe under a tree the ants would find it quickly

But a human body would take ants weeks to clean up, unless you have an extremely large meat ant nest nearby, and even then it would not be quick. Foxes would take 2-3 days to get rid of most of it.

The holes seem a bit small for mice PF, although I know they can squeeze through amazingly small spaces. These holes would be barely a cm across. Just like spider holes! But I don’t think spiders dig underground chambers.

If it was mice trying to get into the house, they are optimistic….the house is on stumps 1.3m off the ground. Wast of time digging…just run up the stumps across the bearers and find a hole into the house. And there is no food in here anyway. There is paper though, for nests. Maybe I should go and move those bags and make sure they aren’t being gnawed.

PermeateFree said:

wookiemeister said:

PermeateFree said:

All you would need to do is strip the body and leave it in the bush, foxes would leave little but bones and any dogs would clean most of those up too.

the problem is that someone might find it

by leaving it under cover on your own property maybe under a tree the ants would find it quickly

But a human body would take ants weeks to clean up, unless you have an extremely large meat ant nest nearby, and even then it would not be quick. Foxes would take 2-3 days to get rid of most of it.

you’d prime the site before hand feeding the ants like crazy then put the body there

have you ever had that feeling that your talents were wasted?

ants make quick work of them.

The ants are my fiends

wookiemeister said:

have you ever had that feeling that your talents were wasted?

All the f-ing time

Divine Angel said:

wookiemeister said:

have you ever had that feeling that your talents were wasted?

All the f-ing time

How about delusions of grandeur?

:-p

wookiemeister said:

have you ever had that feeling that your talents were wasted?

Yes. My talents were in things which have no use in a peaceful, well-ordered, and caring society.

Thus, i resent my talents, and dislike myself for having them.

buffy said:

The holes seem a bit small for mice PF, although I know they can squeeze through amazingly small spaces. These holes would be barely a cm across. Just like spider holes! But I don’t think spiders dig underground chambers.

If it was mice trying to get into the house, they are optimistic….the house is on stumps 1.3m off the ground. Wast of time digging…just run up the stumps across the bearers and find a hole into the house. And there is no food in here anyway. There is paper though, for nests. Maybe I should go and move those bags and make sure they aren’t being gnawed.

If you look around the holes there should be the excavated soil. If so, it will most likely be ants. Spiders do so too, their burrows usually go straight down, so unlikely to collapse. Lots of small burrowing frogs about now, but again holes would be too small to collapse. Beetles again usually go straight down. Think it would most likely be ants, they’re always busy.

My inner critic won’t allow me to have delusions of grandeur.

wookiemeister said:

PermeateFree said:

wookiemeister said:

the problem is that someone might find it

by leaving it under cover on your own property maybe under a tree the ants would find it quickly

But a human body would take ants weeks to clean up, unless you have an extremely large meat ant nest nearby, and even then it would not be quick. Foxes would take 2-3 days to get rid of most of it.

you’d prime the site before hand feeding the ants like crazy then put the body there

You sure got imagination Wooky. :)

I’m curious now….I suppose I’ll have to get out the spade in the morning.

buffy said:

The holes seem a bit small for mice PF, although I know they can squeeze through amazingly small spaces. These holes would be barely a cm across. Just like spider holes! But I don’t think spiders dig underground chambers.

If it was mice trying to get into the house, they are optimistic….the house is on stumps 1.3m off the ground. Wast of time digging…just run up the stumps across the bearers and find a hole into the house. And there is no food in here anyway. There is paper though, for nests. Maybe I should go and move those bags and make sure they aren’t being gnawed.

It could also be something tunnelling just below the surface. Mice again dig extensive networks, so lookout for side holes too.

>>Mice again dig extensive networks, so lookout for side holes too<<

Oh, we’ve had great fun with the hose down mouseholes and the dogs chasing the escapers. When we had tunnels into the aviaries in Hawkesdale.

Mr buffy is going for meeece. I’ll dig and see if there are tunnels in the morning. It might be possible that we have native water rats, I suppose. We aren’t all that far from the billabong and the river. But i imagine they stay down there rather than up here amongst the houses.

buffy said:

Mr buffy is going for meeece. I’ll dig and see if there are tunnels in the morning. It might be possible that we have native water rats, I suppose. We aren’t all that far from the billabong and the river. But i imagine they stay down there rather than up here amongst the houses.

If it was anywhere near that size it would be more likely be a bushrat, but they create huge mounds of soil, so you would notice it very quickly. Water rats don’t generally move far from water, especially to nest.

wookiemeister said:

yeah that’s what I don’t get with the bodies in the barrels thing

wouldn’t you just spray the bodies with some honey and then just nature take its course?

won’t help with the teeth though….