I had an old friend tell me that he hadn't tied flies for many years, and would I like to have all of his materials? I (dummy) said "sure, thank you." Big mistake !! Believe me: You are much better off paying the price for new materials (hackle capes and fur/hair) than dealing with the little critters that could come into your supplies from an infested source.
Larry Johnson Springville, Utah >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6/2/2006 12:51 AM >>> MeddelandeNick, 'Bugs' covers many infestations. With road kill, you get a smorgasbord of critters. Mostly, though, if you don't deal with roadkill, you'll have moth caterpillars. Tiny little buggers that like, no- love- the most expensive of your materials. THey burrow through the region between the skin and outer feathers, eating the downy parts first. If left isolated, they can denude the entire cape, eating everything but the stems. Take a baggie and shake it, holding it by the zipper portion. The feces of the worms will look like fine dirt pellets in the bottom of the bag. If you can see this, but no real damage to the feathers yet, it may be worth it to try to save the fur or feathers (if valuable). If the feathers (or fur) have been chewed up, it's best to discard the whole bag. Worms can chew through plastic bags and cardboard and infest neighboring bags. They don't like light, dyes, or open places (in my experience). They will attack fur and feathers kept in dark areas, naturals preferred. If you see tiny (size 26/28) adult moths flying around, your stash is at risk. I steer clear of road kill and quarantine anything suspicious. Lots of aromatic cedar dog bedding in all containers works for me. Hope this helps, Don ----- Original Message ----- From: Niclas Runarsson To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2006 1:07 PM Subject: [VFB] Nasties in your baggies? Hi, I was going to go through my bird skins to check if any buggies are found. Only one problem though... inexperience. I have no clue what am I looking for? What sizes are we talking about? Do I need to sit with a magnifier or is it like "if there is one, you will see it"? What are the most common insect species the fly-tier most likely will find in an infested storage? (If I knew the insect I could search for pictures to see what I'm looking for.) /Nick ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.8.0/353 - Release Date: 5/31/2006
