This resembles nothing so much as a “developing country” shipbreaking operation:
For all I know, the ants haul the carcass into position, blow the scuttling charges to loosen the armor, and sink it in a convenient spot on the driveway:
The hulk vanished later in the day.
This is the season for staghorn beetles; the one we spotted a few years ago was in much better condition.
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 
Comments
4 responses to “Staghorn Beetle Salvage Operation”
Always neat to find a big beetle like this, but pretty amazing to watch these guys work.
If ants were much bigger, they’d be way scarier…
We’re getting a big beetle around here that about 1.5″ long. I haven’t found a match for it (beetle abdomen, but long antennae, brown color), but it’s interesting. Even our lab/aussie gives it a pass; it must taste really bad for her to do that. The border collie thinks it’s too weird for her; she prefers to investigate the tiny frogs we get (smaller than the bug).
Maybe those bugs taste better with some chili powder? [wince]