A blowfly (left), a house fly (centre), a flesh fly (right). Within this period there are no outward signs of physical change, but bacteria already living within the carcass begin to digest tissues within the body.Ī selection of carrion-feeding flies that appear during the fresh stage of decomposition. The first stage of decomposition (termed “the fresh stage”) occurs between the moment of death and the first signs of bloat. This model explains how insects, in close collaboration with microorganisms, transform a warm body into a pile of bones while simultaneously recycling carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous and numerous other nutrients so that other living things may grow and thrive. Through decades of careful observation and experimentation, entomologists have described a five-stage model of decomposition. Much of this transformative process is performed by wriggling, scuttling, scurrying insects. While skeletons are universally considered symbols of death, the process of turning a newly dead animal into a bony skeleton relies on an explosion of life that ushers in the process of decomposition. It’s that time of the year when skeletons, skulls and bones have found their way onto cookies, porches and storefront windows.
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