A fine trophy deer skull cleaned, whitened and mounted on an oak panel costs $135 – roughly a third the cost of a traditional caped head and shoulder mount.

A regular trophy deer shoulder mount done by a taxidermist can cost $450 to $500 or more, taking months to complete. A European skull mount can be turned around in a couple of weeks.

CNY Outdoors Conquest man uses 'flesh-eating' beetles for his European skull mounts of deer and other animals Published: Nov. 05, 2010, 4:40 p.m.

European-style mount of deer head turns out well, after a little work When undertaking a project like this, getting the right advice from the right people is important.

A Deer Lodge couple raises and sells meat-eating beetles that taxidermists and others use to clean the skulls of elk, deer and other game animals for European mounts.