Sarcophaga

So, a bit of backstory: On Monday The Husband and I went for our usual walk. On the return trip down the dirt road that is our regular route he found a very small - relatively newly born presumably - Garter Snake. Dead. It was nearly untouched by the car that had evidently just barely nicked it, but it was definitely dead. So The Husband carried it home, as you do, and put it on a metal table out behind our kitchen. It looked pretty perfect all day Monday, and then yesterday I noticed a Yellow Jacket (wasp) was nibbling bits of it off - which is what they do - and one could now see its spine in a small section. We rather hoped that perhaps that nibbling would continue and we'd end up with a tiny snake skeleton. But then today I checked on it again and found this fly. It is, of course, a Flesh Fly (family Sarcophagidae). I got my macro equipment and was able to rest the lens on the table for a fairly steady shot. This is that shot. But then! It gets better!! Along came an apparently male Flesh Fly and the next thing I knew they were doing what they do - see extra photo. I presume there are now eggs laid in the snake and the little larvae will eat the flesh. And hopefully we'll still end up with a skeleton. We'll see!

Science!