Tom's findings are mirrored in the findings presented in: Williams, S. and S. McLaren. 1990. Modification of storage design to mitigate insect pest problems. Collection Forum 6(1): 27-32. _http://140.247.98.87/files/1990_06_01.pdf_ (http://140.247.98.87/files/1990_06_01.pdf) Cathy Hawks In a message dated 5/4/2010 3:36:28 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
It seems that some pests have changed their habits! Although I previously thought that clothes moths would only live in substantial amounts of wool, fur or feathers in objects, in recent years we have found them in organic debris. Three very large London Museums have serious Tineola moth problems which emanate from huge amounts of dirt and debris in dead spaces. The dead spaces are either under floorboards or behind and under displays which cannot be cleaned. This seems to be made up of large amounts of hair, skin and fragments of clothing and so provides sufficient nutrition for the larvae. Some fragments of human food from functions and cafes provide the seasoning! By the way, these deposits also support Anthrenus and Attagenus larvae, sometimes in large numbers. The pests can then of course spread into exhibits and infest them. The images will give you some idea of the problem. We all need to work with museum designers to prevent them creating these uncleanable voids. David ----- Original Message ----- From: _Rick Kerschner_ (mailto:[email protected]) To: [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) Sent: Monday, May 03, 2010 5:21 PM Subject: RE: [pestlist] Clothes Moth Eating Habits Hi Tom, I understand that insects can feed on human detritus in floor cracks. What would surprise me would be if that were the main attraction and only food source for an infestation in the building. As you note states, they started in a dead pigeon and then moved to the tastier banner, eventually ending up in the floor crack and beyond. Rick ____________________________________ From: [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Sunday, May 02, 2010 3:59 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [pestlist] Clothes Moth Eating Habits Richard - At a major museum in Chicago, I did find WCM larvae feeding on hair and detritus lodged between the bricks of a trolley exhibit. They started in a trapped, dead pigeon, then moved to a wool felt banner mounted high up on the wall of the trolley exhibit, ended up between the bricks, and then on to a pioneer life exhibit. Tom Parker -----Original Message----- From: Rick Kerschner <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:03 am 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]_ (mailto:[email protected]) ____________________________________ From: [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) [_mailto:[email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]?) ] On Behalf Of Molly Gleeson Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2010 4:08 PM To: [email protected]_ (mailto:[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]_ (mailto:[email protected]) > To: [email protected]_ (mailto:[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]_ (mailto:[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. Catharine Hawks Conservator 2419 Barbour Road Falls Church VA 22043-3026 USA t/f 703.876.9272 mobile 703.200.4370
