When I came to Alaska in 2001, I saw an active insect infestation (I think it was moths but it might have been dermestids) on a fur parka in an exhibition at a sizeable museum that does do exhibit cleaning. Frass and shed casings were visible on the surface of the parka and on the exhibit deck around the artifact, and after inspection by staff they discovered it was active. It had been on display in a case in their permanent gallery. But I agree that the small amounts of edible material left by visitors are not the highest risk. In my experience, that's been wool clothing, ethnographic dolls, taxidermy, fur artifacts, and feathers. For ingress of heritage-eater insects the main vulnerability has been packing material and boxes that artifacts for collections and handmade merchandise for the gift store arrive in...boxes that have been reused from their original purpose, and sometimes containing non-edibles (such as the ceramic vase that arrived in a box with several live larder beetles...)
Ellen Carrlee Conservator Alaska State Museum From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rick Kerschner Sent: Friday, April 30, 2010 5:04 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [pestlist] Clothes Moth Eating Habits My experience reflects Molly's observations. Whenever I have found insect infestations they have been on particularly "tasty" artifacts, e.g. taxidermy mounts, fur mukluks, wool interior of a carriage, that have been in storage in poor conditions and not vacuumed for ages. With one exception, I cannot remember a carpet beetle or moth infestation on an artifact on exhibition that is vacuumed even only yearly. That exception is our hunting lodge filled with taxidermy specimens. We did find carpet beetles on the specimens, especially in the horns, after 55 years on exhibit and they had been there at a low level for quite a while. However, this infestation was not due to detritus carried into the building by visitors. The artifacts themselves were the source of the food for the insects. Although I guess that it is possible for insects to be attracted to small amounts of protein left by visitors as they tour our buildings, I doubt that this source or nourishment is the cause of significant collections infestations. Better to look for a dead bird or rodent in the walls, or a high-protein artifact that had not seen the light of day or the brush of a vacuum for years. Richard L. Kerschner Director of Preservation and Conservation Shelburne Museum PO Box 10, Route 7 Shelburne, VT 05482 (802) 985-3348 x3361 [email protected] ________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Molly Gleeson Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2010 4:08 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [pestlist] Clothes Moth Eating Habits This is interesting, however, I'm wondering how many instances there are of collections becoming infested by clothes moth larvae while on display? I guess I've never heard of that, but I'd be interested to know if this is a frequent occurrence and a problem. We generally don't let the public in storage areas, and, in my limited experience, that is where the majority of these infestations occur. best, Molly Molly Gleeson Conservator of Archaeological and Ethnographic Objects San Diego, CA ________________________________ From: Heather Thomas <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thu, April 29, 2010 12:42:12 PM Subject: Re: [pestlist] Clothes Moth Eating Habits Thanks for that Thomas. I thought that WCM would eat skin as they attack taxidermy specimens, leather and dried animal remains or is it only the fur, hair and feathers they eat? I'm starting to realise our collections would be a lot safer if we didn't let the public in the our museums. :-) On 29 Apr 2010, at 19:50, [email protected] wrote: Heather - When I give an IPPM lecture, I tell my audience a visitor drops 3 hairs and one fingernail per visit. WCM larvae will readily feed on the hair, but usually not the fingernails. Carpet beetles will feed on the fingernails. I know of nothing, which will damage collections, which will feed on skin cells. The public doesn't drop feathers. Generally I have found younger instars feeding on the debris in cracks between floor boards and bricks in a museum. Although I haven't seen it, I am assuming in a large public museum, there's enough protein debris for a WCM larva to complete its development and pupate utilizing the protein materials dropped by the public. Thomas A. Parker, PhD President, Entomologist Pest Control Services, Inc.
