Thank you all for your input and advice. I’m inserting a couple photos of the photographs where moths were discovered. I don’t have photos of the adult moths, but we positively ID’d them as clothes moths. We are not sure if they were casemaking or webbing. There is no obvious webbing on the photos, and we did not find any larvae. (As you can see, the photographs are very dirty, which makes identifying frass or pest damage difficult.)
These are personal snapshots that were washed up in the debris and sorted for survivors after the Japanese 3/11 disaster. They have been recovered and assembled as part of a project called Lost and Found. It is possible that there is dirt or debris on the back of the photos that might provide a food source for the moths. Because of their unique history, we are not sure what exactly is on their surfaces. Also because of this history, they have not been cleaned as thoroughly as another photo in our collection might be. You can see a crushed moth in the bottom left corner of one image. It is possible that the moths were in the gallery and found their way into the mylar sleeves, an attractive tight and dark space. However it struck us as odd that we found 5 of these moths, on 5 different photos, and not just one. The exhibit prior to the photos’ display featured a bale of clothing that reportedly had some moth activity (I wasn’t here to observe or document that installation). I have been monitoring the gallery space where the photos were installed, and have found no moth activity since their deinstallation. We are simply not sure if the moths came into the museum on the photos, or if they were in the gallery and found their way to the photos on display. The photos were not flagged for potential moth infestation, because we’ve never thought of moths as a potential photo pest! There are 370 photographs, stored in mylar sleeves, packed into a blueboard box. 100 of these were on view, also in their mylar sleeves, mounted and hung in vertical strips. These are currently stored in their strips, in a flat blueboard package. Only the photos on view have been condition checked. I have sealed all the photos’ packaging in plastic until we can determine how to proceed. [cid:[email protected]] [cid:[email protected]] [cid:[email protected]] The input I’ve received already has been helpful, thank you. Any further thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Best, Cara -- Cara Kuball Collections Manager for Preventive Conservation Museum of Fine Arts, Boston [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> | 617-369-3953 http://www.mfa.org/ From: Matthew Mickletz [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, October 26, 2015 8:57 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [pestlist] RE: low-temperature treatment on photographs? Hello, Just my humble opinion on this: First, get a positive ID on the moth. Post a photo to the list or use Museumpests.net to see if the moths found are museum pests (potential for harming objects). To my knowledge, moths aren’t known to feed on photographs or cause other damage to them other than their carcasses perhaps soiling surfaces; that fine powdery coating on their wings coming off. If positively ID’d to a harmful moth, the area the photos came out of should be checked to find the food source – animal hide, hair, feathers and textiles. Photos simply do not provide moths with what they need to survive and bread, but what might have? Were there other objects around the photos, in their history within the Mylar and to your knowledge, with these sort of materials moths like? Carcasses of moths are still nothing to simply ignore due to the potential of them becoming a food source for dermestids (e.g. carpet beetles larvae). Is there any other damage besides the water damage? Most common for paper and photographs would be via silverfish or firebrats – grazing on the back of the snapshot. Close examination of each photograph would be time better spent than jumping to treatment. A time consuming step if we’re talking large numbers, however it will better determine the eradication method, if any, needed. Based on what you’ve told us, I can’t see putting the photos at risk in a low temperature treatment unless there is evidence enough to support it. With a textile such as a large rug, if carpet beetle larvae, frass and sheds are found in a several areas, to physically pick out each larva would be impractical. Freezing would be warranted, if its condition and materials allow. A photo of the photos, how they are stored, where they are stored/displayed would help us on the list give a better idea of the situation. Hope this helps a bit! Best, Matt Matthew A. Mickletz – Supervisor, Preventive Conservation – Winterthur Museum<http://www.winterthur.org/> – 302.888.4752 From: Cara Kuball [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, October 23, 2015 5:42 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: [pestlist] low-temperature treatment on photographs? Hello all, I’m wondering if anyone has experience with a low-temperature treatment on photographs (snapshots). The photographs we may need to treat have been severely water-damaged (they are artifacts) and we suspect a moth infestation. The photographs were on view in mylar sleeves, and when they were deinstalled we found 5 dead adult moths inside the sleeves. Our photo conservators are very concerned about doing more damage to already fragile surfaces by treating with low-temperature. I don’t think treating photographs in this way is very common, but I’d be grateful for any recommendations of literature or other experience you may have. The other idea I had was to bag the photos with a pheromone trap to see if we catch any adults. If we don’t catch a lot of moths in, say, a week’s time, would it be safe to conclude that there is no active infestation? Thanks, Cara -- Cara Kuball Collections Manager for Preventive Conservation Museum of Fine Arts, Boston [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> | 617-369-3953 http://www.mfa.org/ -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by E.F.A. Project<http://www.efa-project.org>, and is believed to be clean. 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