Necrophagous insects, surely they're not dead wrong?

Necrophagous insects are an integral part of prairie ecosystems. Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and beetles (e.g. Coleoptera: Silphidae, Staphylinidae) can quickly locate, colonize, and break down carcasses, moving nutrients back into the environment. These nutrients create fertility islands that benefit soil, plant, and animal diversity.                                    

To better understand necrophagous blow fly and beetle populations, we conducted a survey in the Nebraska Sandhills in the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, a mid to tall grass prairie that covers approximately 289 square kilometers. A frozen/thawed rabbit (1-2 kg) was placed on the open ground, with a cone trap over the head region, and covered with chicken wire. Twenty traps were placed throughout the Refuge on a 32 km transect and were monitored and emptied every 24 hours for three days. Three trapping periods were conducted in May, July, and October. Adult Dipteran and Coleopteran specimens were identified using morphological characteristics.

Diptera taxa were collected in May, July and October. Coleoptera taxa were collected in May and July. Throughout all sampling periods, no fly eggs or larvae were observed on rabbit carcasses and fewer than ten percent of the females were gravid. In May and July, beetles located and colonized rabbit carcasses within 24 hours and consumed at least 50% of the biomass within 36 hours. By the end of the sampling period, very little soft tissue remained. This early colonization by beetles and the absence of fly eggs/larvae suggest an alternate succession pattern that could be an indication of environmental or climatic differences.