While looking at a bucktail yesterday we noticed some rice-sized, brown clots in the thick part of the tail. They looked something like what my Mom used to call "beggar lice." The fella who pointed them out to me called them "mortuary bugs." Anyone heard of them? Do they have any effect on anything?

I imagine that they are chomping on the bucktail. Does it look damaged at all? may need to freeze for a while or else baggie the bucktail up with a flea collar or some No Pest Strip pieces.

Oops, misspelled it...mortuary...as in dead folk.
Thanks Robin, we were thinking any dying or processing must have killed the nasty lil critters. Can't see any damage to the fibers, just picked 'em off outside and went on about what I had to do.

Oh good, no bugs kicking around.
You know, I was surprised to not find any results on my Google for "mortuary bug"

The are the larvae of a carpet beetle. They are extremely destructive and will eat everything from tying materials to clothing. Never buy a piece or material with them. They will spread to the rest of your stash - and make sure you wash your hands very well after handling affected items. The eggs are very easy to spread.

Most of the time you will notice the larvae or the cast skins left behind when they changed into adult beetles. There are a number of products that will get rid of them - mothballs etc. I keep cedar blocks in with my natural materials as a deterrent.

Throw the bucktails in the freezer for a couple of days, it will do the trick.

+1. works like a charm.

Thanks ya'll,
I have the bucktail isolated. Guess I'll just dispose of it because it's not mine and I sure don't want to spread any bugs or larvae to other stuff.
The thought of any creepy crawlies in my freezer just makes my ice cream curdle.

bug 1 "hmm, whats dis here?"

bug 2 "ice cream..but it needs more bucktail smell..."

On the other hand, you'll be all set for when you keel over and die.....