Deep Look

Why is this dead mouse moving?!

Well, death is a magnet for life.

And theres something down there.

Its a yellow-bellied burying beetle, hustling to hide this mouse, before, say, a raccoon gets it.

It also has to work faster than these ants, which are here for bits of mouse to feed their larvae.

And theres this fly, too, looking for a place to lay her eggs.

More on that later.

The beetle, also known as a carrion beetle, doesnt do the killing.

Itjust profits off creatures whose time has run out, here on the California coast.

Just as small carcasses begin to get fragrant, the beetle sniffs them out with its sensitive clubbed antennae.

Over the next few hours, it digs up dirt from below the mouse.

It pushes and pulls.

Yes, that is just one beetle doing the hauling, moving that carcass safely underground.

This carcass is about to become a nursery and a buffet.

Now its time to get something else done.

The beetle hooks up with a partner.

Underground, they roll the carcass into a ball.

This reduces the amount of flesh exposed to bacteria and decay.

Thats one way to bond on a date!

The mouse takes on the color of dirt.

The beetles dab the ball with microbes, from their butts, that work like a preservative, slowing down the rotting.

The meal has to keep so they can feed their offspring.

See that?

A few days later, larvae hatch from the eggs mom laid right next to the carcass.

Theyre hungry and mom feeds them bits of prechewed mouse into their mouths.

When theyre big enough, the larvae crawl right into that pantry and help themselves.

Its a party in here!

Meanwhile, some other creatures are also flourishing on this mouse carcass: mites that rode in on the beetles.

Theyre called phoretic, which means theyre piggybackers.

They reproduce like mad and look like a huge nuisance to their carriers.

What?

Do I have something on my face? But the mites actually help the beetles.

Remember the fly that laid her eggs on the carcass?

Well, the mites devour fly eggs, which would otherwise grow into maggots hungry for this delicacy.

The mites also eat a few beetle eggs from time to time.

Its the price thebeetles pay so their larvae have the mouse to themselves.

But if a beetle family is large, a carcass sometimes isnt enough to feed all the hungry mouths.

So, mom gets rid of a few of her larvae by eating them.

She eats some so that otherscan thrive continuing thatstrange dance between life and death.