Coyote Peterson conducts an experiment to determine if maggots will eat human flesh. He consults with Dr. Julie from Ohio State University, who explains that maggots primarily eat rotting matter, but some species may burrow into human flesh if given the chance. Coyote then submerges one foot, bare, and the other foot, covered in a "meat sock" made of chicken skin and bacon, into a box containing 300,000 maggots. After several hours, he observes that the maggots have not eaten into his skin on either foot, but have consumed the bacon and chicken skin on the meat sock. Coyote concludes that maggots do not eat living human flesh and that they play an important role in decomposing organic matter.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. Coyote Peterson conducted an experiment to see if maggots will eat human flesh.
2. He submerged his feet in a container with 300,000 maggots for several hours.
3. One foot was covered in a "meat sock" made of chicken skin and bacon, while the other foot was bare.
4. Maggots are the immature stage of any kind of fly.
5. Maggots primarily feast on rotting organic matter, such as dead carcasses or roadkill.
6. Some species of maggots will eat human flesh if given the chance, but only if it is dead.
7. Maggots have mouth hooks that allow them to grapple and pull their bodies over dead flesh.
8. Maggots secrete enzymes that liquefy flesh proteins.
9. The life cycle of a fly has four distinct phases: egg, larva (maggot), pupa, and adult.
10. Maggots can eat through dead skin and flesh, but they do not have the ability to break through living skin.
11. Coyote Peterson's experiment showed that maggots did not eat his living human flesh, even when given the opportunity.
12. Maggots are natural decomposers that break down plant and animal matter in the environment.