Carrion Beetles: Nature's Decomposers

This simulation models the life cycle of a burying beetle (Nicrophorus) colony working a small carcass. A decomposition-odor plume spreads outward from the carcass over time; beetles wander randomly until the odor concentration within their sensing range crosses a detection threshold, at which point they home in on the source. Once enough beetles arrive, they cooperatively excavate the soil beneath the carcass, gradually burying it — visualized as the carcass sinking into a growing dirt mound. After burial, eggs and larvae appear on the buried remains, and a soil-nutrient meter tracks how the carcass's mass is converted into recycled nutrients, the same decomposer function these beetles perform throughout real-world ecosystems. Adjust the colony size, smell sensitivity and decomposition rate to see how quickly a carcass is found, buried and broken down.