Bugs Eating Bone on Skull Plate

[JDZ]

Two years ago I shot a deer and saved the skull plate with antlers. I cleaned it of most of the soft tissue. It has been sitting on the bench in my garage since then. Occasionally, I’ve moved it to clean and such. Today, I noticed a pile of debris below it. After I looked closer, there was a bunch of little white bugs eating the bone. There were very few on the surface. They look like little maggots. Lots of dead ones. But they’re burrowing into the bone, and not eating any of the dry tissue, like a little hide and hair or the little membrane between the brain and skull. Does anybody have any idea what they are or where they could have come from?

Here you can see where they’ve eaten into the bone.

Here are a couple I tapped out onto the concrete. They’re maybe 1/4-inch long.

Here’s a few on the skull.

 

[MattB]

Likely eating remaining soft tissue.

 

[JDZ]

Except they’re not eating the soft tissue. They didn’t appear for at least a year and a half and have left the soft tissue alone. They’ve eaten away part of the bone and are burrowing inside the bone. Gross.

 

[Phaseolus]

Those are a species of dermestids

 

[JDZ]

Those are a species of dermestids

Where do they come from? Are they larvae? Do they turn into other insects?

 

[Legend]

I would bet money it is a native dermestid beetle. You know the same as the taxidermist have. Here in Montana they show up on my deck and if i leave the window open with out a screen they show up in the house. You have to keep all food sources for them outside. They can cause hell in a house....close, food, taxidermy work, etc.

 

[JDZ]

Why would a taxidermist have a bug that eats bone?

 

[Phaseolus]

I would bet money it is a native dermestid beetle. You know the same as the taxidermist have. Here in Montana they show up on my deck and if i leave the window open with out a screen they show up in the house. You have to keep all food sources for them outside. They can cause hell in a house....close, food, taxidermy work, etc.

Those are larvae, they turn into beetles

Where do they come from? Are they larvae? Do they turn into other insects?

Those are larvae, they become beetles. There are quite a few species of dermestids. They rarely eat bone, only when there is nothing else to eat. They are also the bane of people who have insect collections.