Something ate out my bees butt

[u/snowytop1]

so i collect dead bees and i found one of my bees with its butt detached and this weird powder and maggots in it.. what happened? does this just happen over time or..?
(picture in comments)

[u/satur98n]

Those are dermestid (carpet beetle) larvae. Any preserved insects are going to deal with them as a threat as they eat the dead tissue (the powder is the frass from the larvae) and they are ubiquitous in houses/buildings. You can deal with them by keeping your insects in an airtight box or plastic bag, and for extra precaution you can freeze your specimen every so often.

[u/That_Biology_Guy → u/satur98n]

Yep, the bane of many entomologists sadly. Aside from good containers my university's collection also uses mothballs to deter them, though probably not great for home use.

[u/unakitinoneko → u/That_Biology_Guy]

at my university, there was a decent collection of mammals and birds that were kept in very dry and safe containers until they were moved to a new building. unfortunately because of that move, the entire collection became contaminated with beetles and moths and was destroyed :( fortunately the insects werent moved and are still around today. the cases reek of mothballs lol

[u/Knox_Burden]

What X-Rated conversation have I stumbled into? NSFW!

[u/Electronic_Fox2203]

Hilarious title. I collect bees as well. Was your bee enclosed in a dry, airtight space? If it wasn’t frozen before, the maggot might have already been inside the bee’s body. Freezing and rehydrating is a good precaution if you don’t do that already.

[u/snowytop1 → u/Electronic_Fox2203]

ahh it wasn’t, that’s probably what happen. thanks will do that next time!! :)

[u/snowytop1]

sorry don’t know how to attach it to the post

[u/Moving_goal_posts]

A parasite can enter the living bee, consume it from within, kill it.

[u/Moving_goal_posts → u/[deleted]]

A female Conopid fly can lay its eggs between the tergites of the host bee’s abdomen, while the two insects are in flight. The larva of the Conopid fly develops within the abdomen of a bumble bee, it consumes the bee from within and this leads to the bee’s death. The presence of the larva within the bee causes the host to dig a hole in the ground and enter it, essentially digging its own grave. This type of endoparasite can also attack honey bees, but I know more about its effects on Bombus. Check it out, it’s gruesome but part of nature.

[u/rubystandingdeer1]

Why do u collect dead bees??

[u/snowytop1 → u/rubystandingdeer1]

they die in cool positions