This is a message from the Pest Management Database List. To post to this list send it as an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe look at the footer of this email. ----------------------------------------------------------- Hello,
So, last Friday afternoon I discovered that two bobcat specimens (stuffed skins) in the collection are infested with case-making clothes moths. While I'm not thrilled to find them, it is a very obvious and recognizable pest. We have two cabinets of natural history specimens (mammals & birds) and while examining the other specimens for moths, I found something else. Many of the birds have sawdust-looking material in their feathers in the area between their legs. Some of the birds have sticks inserted into them that are about the same color as the material, but I've found the sawdust in other birds, too, and as far as I can tell the sticks don't seem to be damaged. The material doesn't look like little pellets, but more like flakes. I can't really tell the origin of the flakes without pulling the specimens apart, but it looks like they could be coming out of an opening. Most of the specimens have been stuffed with cotton-like batting as far as I can tell, and they all date from the late 1960s to the present. Does anyone have any idea what the flakes could be? Are they evidence of pests (either current or past) or some sort of product of the preservation/stuffing process? I can send a picture if that would help. Thanks, Kirsten Kirsten Kvam Curator Point Reyes National Seashore 1 Bear Valley Road Point Reyes, CA 94956 (415) 464-5218 ------------------------------------------------------------- To send an email to the list, send your msg to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe from this list send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and in the body put: "unsubscribe pestlist" Any problems email [EMAIL PROTECTED]
