Maggot activity study for the forensics class

[Marama T]

I'm doing a maggot activity study in my backyard for the year nine forensics class. Woohoo!!!! Days one, two and three shown here.

[littltesttube]

[Marama T]

[bigmack]

That's just wrong Marama

[Anna Z]

[Marama T]

Well, where would we be without our decomposers? Knee-deep in dead stinky things. I think it's a perfectly natural process. And forensic entomologists study maggot activity all the time. It's SCIENCE! Haha. You guys are funny. I should put this on BookFace and see how many people are grossed out.

[bigmack]

Marama , looks like ants in the second picture .
wondering why they appeared and then left when the Maggots hatched ?

Not much into Bio , but curious .

[Marama T]

I was wondering the same thing. The ants left as soon as the maggots hatched.

[RosalieL]

Do you have more updates? I'm invested in the maggots! I have always wished I followed my forensics dream (back before it was a popular thing with all the tv shows!)

[Kathryn]

It would get my dogs pretty excited if I left a chunk of meat out in the back yard. Years ago when my daughter was doing her undergraduate degree, she had a job working in the entomology department looking after the flies. It was very stinky!

[Marama T]

My maggot activity study got a bit waylaid. I had the tray on the porch to keep it out of the rain, but we had a storm and there was water inundation. I figure it's as if a body were partially submerged. The water entered after the pic that is day 4 (the top one), and you can see some of the maggots drowned. Day 7 you can see a bunch of black soldier fly larvae, carefully gathered together to avoid drowning. But then on day 8, all the living maggots and other larvae were gone - I suspect a bird found them irresistible. The smell is much less offensive now too.

[mtg]

I will use your pics. Many years ago I had a teacher set this up in the fume hood with left over heart dissections. She didn't tell me and back then the fumehood was at the back of a classroom. When she remembered it was abuzz. I bailed. Teacher had to do the clean. I have never done it since.

[bigmack]

I'm so pleased you worked out how to post pictures Marama

[Anna Z]

I'm so pleased you worked out how to post pictures Marama

Much to our disgust

[Marama T]

I'm so pleased you worked out how to post pictures Marama

Me too! (Or are you being sarcastic?) Thanks again, bigmack.

[bigmack]

I'm so pleased you worked out how to post pictures Marama

Me too! (Or are you being sarcastic?) Thanks again, bigmack.

A little tongue in cheek , but seriously , I admire your work . I would have been divorced if I tried that at home . Do you have to bring it to school for the forensics class or are they happy to see the pictures .

[Marama T]

I'm just giving them the photos. I'll do it again sometime, once I figure out a place that will stay dry (and isn't too close to the house). I'm going to track down a forensic entomologist to ask why the ants went away. I've got other questions too. I'll let you know what I find out.