Carrion Beetles: 3D Burial Behavior

This simulation renders a full 3D scene of burying beetles (Nicrophorus) performing their signature ecological role: detecting the odor plume of a decomposing carcass, converging on it from across the soil surface, and cooperatively excavating the ground beneath it until it sinks entirely underground. Each beetle is a procedural 3D model — segmented body, six animated legs — that wanders the surface until it enters the odor field, then homes in along the concentration gradient and switches to a visible digging animation once it reaches the carcass, kicking up soil particles as the ground beneath it is displaced. Adjust colony size, sensing range and the decomposition/odor rate to see how quickly the group locates and buries a fresh carcass, and orbit the free camera around the scene to watch the burial from any angle.