Hi Molly, Trust me, collections can become infested with webbing clothes moths while on display... Another good reason to display collections in well-sealed exhibit cases.
--Tania Tania Collas Head of Conservation Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County From: pestlist-ow...@museumpests.net [mailto:pestlist-ow...@museumpests.net] On Behalf Of Molly Gleeson Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2010 1:08 PM To: pestlist@museumpests.net 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 <call...@bulldoghome.com> To: pestlist@museumpests.net 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, bugma...@aol.com 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.
