Like many parents around the world, burying beetles provide a cozy nursery for their offspring. Unlike most parents, however, Nicrophorus vespilloides beetles build that nursery by plucking fur and feathers from small animal carcasses and then coating the bare bodies with special secretions.

Now, a study published today in PNAS shows that the microbes in this beetle juice actually slow decomposition and instead help preserve carrion so that the developing larvae have a safe and delicious spot to mature.