Experimentation with captive ant nest: Verdict
(earlier pics)
So I've learned a few things from giving a captive ant nest a gutted and skinned mouse. The bonus in using a captive ants nest is that you know that no other forces (scavengers, weather, etc.) are going to have access. If you have something truly precious, there is only so far that the bone could wander off to.
To clean bones with an ants nest, the size of the bone must be matched to the size of the ant. This is because, if the ants can, they will take the bone into their nest to process. Obviously, you do not want this. Ants as a group are stronger than you might expect.
I was left with the backbone+pelvis and the skull of my mouse, and I think the skull only remained because some blood had glued it to a rock. Everything else was taken. Damn ants!
For bulky items (e.g. skulls) when using ants that are too big, what might work is an upturned pot (with a stone to hold it down) with a small hole. Ants won't be able to take the bone through the hole into their nest, but will still have access to process it where you placed it.
For all the little bones - either need very small ants, or it's not a good plan.
If sized correctly (I've got access to ants that are really too large), ants work wonderfully in cleaning those delicate bones. Small mammal and bird skulls are cleaned perfectly by them, and these are things that might get damaged through any other means.
P.S. remember that skulls are hollow. I dropped the skull in surprise when an ant walked out of it! (Don't worry, the skull survived).
