*Musca*, *Chrysomya *and *Cochliomyia *larvae all require wet food - they could not survive on dry, mummified remains. It is possible that the *Cochliomyia *larva and pupa might be contemporary with the funerary bundle, but they would then appear old and dried. If they were "fresh", then they have come from another source. The *Dermestes *larva and adult are a different matter. While they would much prefer more recently dried flesh, they would be capable of eating mummified remains (though I suspect they would not fare well on them). If you monitor and find more associated with the funerary bundles, it would be as well to freeze the affected objects to prevent further damage. Tony
Dr A.G.Irwin 47 The Avenues Norwich Norfolk NR2 3PH England mobile: +44(0)7880707834 phone: +44(0)1603 453524 On Thu, 3 Jun 2021 at 15:48, Angelica Isa-Adaniya <a.isa14...@gmail.com> wrote: > Dear everyone, > I have a question about old, presumably dried up and naturally mummified > human remains. > If I find flies normally associated with decomposing matter such as *Musca > domestica, Chrysomya albiceps *and *Cochliomyia macellaria*, and we are > in a relatively rural area, should I be concerned that they might be > getting to some packaged up funerary bundles? Or are they more likely just > flying in from outside? > > We found adult *M.domestica and C. albiceps* out in the open, but the *C. > macellaria *was one larva and one pupa on a mummy bundle as well as one > larva and one adult hide beetle *Dermestes maculatus* on a mummy. Am I > correct in assuming they're feeding on the remains? > > Thank you for any pointers on this. > Best, > > Angelica > Pachacamac Museum - Lima, Peru > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MuseumPests" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to pestlist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CAAJvYjX-kK5MAR8YwadTsLAbWqzHvqmcx4yNn38rFv%3DEZU%2BmQQ%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CAAJvYjX-kK5MAR8YwadTsLAbWqzHvqmcx4yNn38rFv%3DEZU%2BmQQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MuseumPests" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to pestlist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CAFWqZKMiYjuGy%3DiyeRuQUcrEcRznCF2VzGCKKPStDBn_WRNcxg%40mail.gmail.com.
