elise1mds Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 ...and as I'm digging it out of the bottom of the aquarium, he tells me, "Mom, can I keep it and study it??" :001_huh: I wound up saying yes. I'll tell you why. His Bahaman anole had died a week or so ago (old age, same as the fish). I hadn't gotten around to cleaning out the tank yet. It had long been a self-sustaining mealworm factory, as long as I tossed in some bug food now and then, and when the lizard died, the boy and I noticed that the mealworms and beetles were making a meal of the lizard. I tossed the lizard remains, but when the boy said that he wanted to study the fish's bones, I suggested he simply put the fish into the lizard tank and see what happened. Within 10 minutes, the beetles and worms were all over the fish. He's taken a photo and is writing down his observations of how the fish fares, day by day. I'll be blogging it later this week or early next. I think I've finally and totally lost my mind, but he thinks I'm the coolest mom ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Food4Thought Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 You sound like a pretty cool mom to me! Biology is not for the fainthearted! My DS hasn't gone quite so far in his experiments, but I do have a roly-poly terrarium, a jar full of earthworms, and a spider egg sac in the house currently. DS said to me last week, "Mom, I don't really need to play with toys. I like SCIENCE!" That sure made this homeschool mom smile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 You have a budding forensic scientist there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 Do a bit of research and you will find his method is similar to the way some biologists clean specimen for study or to preserve biofacts. There is a name for the type of beetle they use but I can't remember it now (been a few years since I was in that arena). Think of The Mummy movie. Clean to the bone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted July 26, 2010 Author Share Posted July 26, 2010 Do a bit of research and you will find his method is similar to the way some biologists clean specimen for study or to preserve biofacts. There is a name for the type of beetle they use but I can't remember it now (been a few years since I was in that arena). Think of The Mummy movie. Clean to the bone... Yup, we got to see time-lapse footage of that precise process when we visited a natural museum history together last weekend. I took him and went down to visit my mother and the museum and left my daughter at home for some daddy time. The bones of the mouse that were "processed" were in the case as well. To be honest, if I hadn't seen that, I may not have been inspired today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 Dermestid beetles! That's neat that you actually saw an exhibit describing the process. And by the way, you *are* a cool mom. It would have been much easier to flush the fish, but you didn't! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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