Dee - Knowing where you are located, the fact some of the wood appears to be
hardwood, and the large diameter of the exit holes and galleries, I would guess
it's extremely old deathwatch beetle. I think the desk probably either sat in
water or at least a very moist area for an extended period of time before it
was salvaged and ended up at your place. Could it have been stored in an old
barn? or similar situation? This type of beetle attacks wood damaged by fungal
invasion. I've rarely seen it in my 43-year career. Tom Parker -----Original
Message-----
From: Dee Stubbs-Lee <[email protected]>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Sent: Tue, Aug 13, 2019 11:56 am
Subject: [pestlist] need help with identification of beetle from damage on
furniture and larval skins
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{} -->Hi all, On Friday, one of my colleagues was trying to shift a slant
front desk a few inches on a carpeted surface. One of the legs caught on the
carpeting and cracked readily . (We do know that neither carpeting in storage
areas or moving furniture solo is good practice, but sometimes we don’t live in
an ideal world!). Upon examination, it was apparent that the damaged area had
previously been heavily compromised by insect damage. The desk had been frozen
upon arrival at the museum in 2012, as per our normal IPM procedures, but the
artifact had not yet been cleaned or thoroughly examined, so we weren’t aware
of the insect damage, which is concentrated on the underside of the furniture
and so not readily visible. I believe the infestation was not currently active,
as during cleaning and careful examination I found no insect bodies or live
larvae, however I did find two cast larval skins. There was also plenty of
frass, tunnels and flight holes. The furniture came to us from a collector in
New Brunswick, Canada. The desk is dated to the last quarter of the eighteenth
century, and is believed to be of British or American origin; not much else is
known about its history. It is mahogany veneer over a variety of secondary
woods. Can you help us identify which beetle species caused the damage? Dee
Dee Stubbs-Lee, CAPC, MA Conservator / Restauratrice New Brunswick Museum/
Musée du Nouveau-Brunswick 277 Douglas Avenue Saint John, New Brunswick E2K 1E5
Canada (506)643-2341 --
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