Carrion - It's What's for Dinner

Deer carcass remains. Note the relatively intact hoof in the lower midsection.

Last fall and winter, FC posted a whole series of photos documenting the decomposition of a dead deer. Things work a bit differently here up in the Arctic wastelands of Illinois. A deer that died over the winter got covered by snow. The cold temperatures meant that decay by both bacterial and insect processes was slowed. The coyotes definitely got in on the decomposition event, but they are far less relentless than the bugs (both insect and microbial). The result was that parts of the carcass became somewhat freeze dried over the winter.
I've been watching this carcass over the past couple of weeks as it has emerged from the snow.

Carrion beetle crawling over the deer hoof

On Saturday, we had very nice weather and Leon and I were out at the Fen. Even though the temperatures were only in the low 50s, carrion-feeding insects were in evidence around the deer remains. Blowflies in the genus Calliphora are often the first insects to arrive at a carcass. They become active very early in the spring. There were only two that were present at this carcass. Blowflies seem to prefer a carcass that it in the very early stages of decomposition. They lay their eggs in the tissues that are still soft- eyes and other mucosal tissue- and the result is often a large and very active mass of writhing maggots. That will not happen with this deer- the decomposition is too far along.

A large blowfly (probably genus Calliphora) at the carcass


A much smaller blowfly. I'm not much of a dipterist, so I'm not sure
whether these two flies are the same species or not.

I was very surprised to see not one but two species of carrion beetles (Silphidae) at the carcass, in some numbers. These beetles tend to show up somewhat later in the decay process. My surprise was that they were out this early. It's yet another sign of spring: the trees are budding, the flowers are blooming, the carrion is decaying.

Carrion beetle (Oiceoptoma inaequale)


Carrion beetle (Oiceoptoma noveboracense)