Welcome! This series will aim to serve as a general break-down of the processes we utilize while preparing our memorial work for clients. By sharing our practice, it is our hope that we can both educate and illuminate some of what to anticipate when properly processing bones. It is Oracle’s ethos that science is magic, and we believe there to be so much magic in the natural ebbs and flows of both life and afterlife.
So, first things first- as one can imagine, bones do not come to us cleanly prepared to be articulated. It takes both a lot of careful planning on how to prepare a skeleton through all the steps before the bones are ready to be posed. This week we will be focusing on the first step of this intricate process, which is preparing our specimen for the dermestid beetles.
*Please note that none of the specimens shared here are client’s pets- we would never share personal information of any kind without permission.
Photo by Kyle Winn.
In preparation, as one would with any kind of pet, it is crucial that we get to know a little bit about these mysterious insects and how to properly care for them. Dermestid colonies (or Dermestes maculatus) are beetles that primarily feed on dry-moist animal matter. Like most insects, these undergo a transformation process, first beginning as eggs that are laid in meat and then hatch as larvae, and begin eating the meat. Shockingly, the entire life cycle lasts about 45 days per generation. While their lives are naturally short, you can continue to feed them animal material and lengthen their lifespan for a while longer.
Photo by Kyle Winn.
To prepare for the dermestid beetles, we first begin by cleaning the specimen that is to be processed by removing the fur or feathers on the outer flesh. Beetles don’t tend to consume hair and feathers, due to an inability to digest keratin, a protein found in these organic matters. (This is not to say that they cannot- different species of dermestids specialize in different forms of decaying matter - plastic, wood, and even mounted taxidermy! So it’s delicate work keeping a colony) Once the specimen has been slimmed down to just lean muscle and bone, it is served to the dermestids in their containers. It is exceptionally important that as much flesh is removed as possible, as too much meat will both rot, create ammonia gas and wet decay, which can kill your colony.
It is important to note each specimen has its own ‘development’ timeline with the beetles - as imaged below, a thriving colony needs all developmental stages of the dermestid beetle to work properly and efficiently. There is no exact timeline of when to anticipate the bones being cleaned completely with the dermestids - especially a well fed colony like ours! The best we are able to do is both keep a careful eye on both them and their environments, and make sure they are in their best health, to ensure their best work! Finally, once the beetles have cleaned the bones, the next step is going to be degreasing the bones! Be sure to stay tuned for our next blog where, just like this one, we’ll be going over the next steps after beetles; degreasing.
