Dear Patrick, Thank you sincerely for the detailed, precise, and extremely helpful information you have kindly shared. It is a true privilege to benefit from your expertise and knowledge in this field. Our fellow Pestlist members were right— you indeed appear to be a true expert in the area of pheromones. I am currently evaluating the effectiveness of the monitoring system that was implemented several years ago within a museum institution. I would be happy to share my findings and observations with you. With my kindest regards, Florence [cid:f6508b05-020c-4627-ae3a-b9e4c9edc250]
Artena Heritage Preservation GmbH Zentweg 17b / CH – 3006 Bern +41 (0) 31 533 47 19 [email protected] artena.swiss<http://www.artena.swiss/> UID : CHE – 158.652.924 Florence Fleury Dipl. Konservatorin/Restauratorin FH SKR-Mitglied +41 (0) 79 764 26 61 [email protected] [cid:13944aac-a2fd-4904-8e27-b729bc90ce96] ________________________________ De : [email protected] <[email protected]> de la part de Patrick Kelley <[email protected]> Envoyé : jeudi 26 juin 2025 15:29 À : [email protected] <[email protected]> Objet : Re: [PestList] pheromone traps Hi Florence, Pheromones are so intriguing in how insects use them to communicate. Over a career of working closely with them I have seen many examples of attraction other than the target species. First of all, insect pheromones can be a complicated blend of several molecules to attract the pest insects we want to monitor. With this blend of different chemical molecules, we sometimes see closely related species reacting to the blend and being drawn near to it. As an example, the blended pheromone for webbing clothes moth, Tineola bisselliella can draw in case-making clothes moths, Tinea pellionella and brown-dotted clothes moths, Niditinea fuscella (depending on the custom blend). Besides these, I have also seen a slight attraction to this same pheromone from some related Monopsis moths such as the bird nest moth, Monopsis crocicapitella and the skunkback moth, Monopsis dorsistregella. All of these moths are related in that they are in the family Tineidae. Even more intriguing is the fact that there is a type of clearwing moth in the family Sesiidae that is attracted to this pheromone. This particular moth has evolved into Batesian mimicry where a harmless species has evolved into imitating the warning signals of a harmful species (wasp). I learned this at one of my son's soccer matches when these wasp-looking moths started flying all around me since I worked with the pheromone. I was left all alone in the stands trying to identify the moth since all of the other parents around me were running away from what they thought were a swarm of wasps. They all thought that I was either brave or an idiot when I grabbed one to inspect it closer 😄. The same is true for some of the beetles as well. We see cross attraction to several of the dermestid beetles in the genus Trogoderma such as the warehouse beetle, Trogoderma variabile, Khapra beetle, Trogoderma granarium and the cabinet beetle, Trogoderma glabrum. Even though there is cross-attraction between species, the reason these species aren't inter-breeding is because as the males approach the female who is producing the pheromone, there needs to be many other cues presented before they actually mate. These could include a male-produced pheromone being presented, wing beating vibrations produced by the male or even a mating-ritual dance before the female allows mating. >From a monitoring standpoint of a pheromone in a sticky trap within your >museum, we have not seen evidence of repellency. You can place a carpet beetle >pheromone and a clothes moth pheromone into the same trap and attract both >without repelling either. If this pheromone is on what would otherwise be >considered a blunder trap (a trap on the ground along a wall), you will still >capture any and all arthropods in that environment that happen to be passing >through. There should be no risk of not knowing the biodiversity of that >environment due to the pheromone lure in the trap. This may have been a long-winded response to your question, but I hope that it helps. Best, Pat Patrick Kelley, BCE (Board Certified Entomologist) Kelley Entomological Services, LLC 1204 Ridge Road, Carmel, IN 46033 USA Phone: 317-902-3104 email:[email protected]<mailto:email%[email protected]> On Wed, Jun 25, 2025 at 3:12 PM 'Florence Fleury - Artena Heritage Preservation GmbH' via MuseumPests <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Hello, I have a question regarding pheromone traps: These are designed to attract a specific insect species (for example, clothes moths or carpet beetles). But is it possible for a pheromone trap targeting one species to also attract other insect species — or, on the contrary, to have a repellent effect on them? In other words, could a pheromone trap specifically designed for one species distort monitoring results by discouraging or failing to attract other insects that are actually present in a collection ? This would mean that targeted trapping doesn't necessarily provide a representative overview of the actual insect biodiversity in a space. Thank you in advance for any insights you can provide! Florence Fleury [signatureImage] Artena Heritage Preservation GmbH Zentweg 17b / CH – 3006 Bern +41 (0) 31 533 47 19 [email protected] artena.swiss UID: CHE – 158.652.924 Florence Fleury Dipl. Konservatorin/Restauratorin FH SKR-Mitglied +41 (0) 79 764 26 61 [email protected] [signatureImage] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MuseumPests" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/GVAP278MB0230CEF95BC45CAD8048D11DA57BA%40GVAP278MB0230.CHEP278.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/GVAP278MB0230CEF95BC45CAD8048D11DA57BA%40GVAP278MB0230.CHEP278.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>. -- Patrick Kelley, BCE (Board Certified Entomologist) Kelley Entomological Services, LLC 1204 Ridge Road, Carmel, IN 46033 USA Phone: 317-902-3104 email:[email protected]<mailto:email%[email protected]> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MuseumPests" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CAOT71Ua16D1eihNp7%2BiO-CzufkYx-Cu-4_bVfhEmU9DKo5DjCw%40mail.gmail.com<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CAOT71Ua16D1eihNp7%2BiO-CzufkYx-Cu-4_bVfhEmU9DKo5DjCw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MuseumPests" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/GVAP278MB0230A5BD57DD723C2D22DA57A57AA%40GVAP278MB0230.CHEP278.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM.
