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A contribution to standards for freezing as a pest control method for museums
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Abstract. The mortality of larvae of Anthrenus museorum (L.), Anthrenus verbasci (L.), Attagenus smirnovi Zhantiev, Attagenus woodroffei Hallstead and Green, Reesa vespulae (Milliron), Trogoderma angustum (Solier) (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) and Tineola bisselliella (Hummel) (Lepidoptera: Tineidae) was studied in freezing experiments at 18 to 20 °C. An infestation by these pests was simulated inside heavy woollen material and upholstered furniture, i.e., in wood enclosed in heavy material. It is vitally important that air can circulate around the treated objects in the freezer. Times necessary for the temperature to reach equilibrium were 20 and 36 hours, respectively. Larvae that had been exposed to temperatures lower than 17.6 °C for about 50 hours had all died, either immediately or as observed several months later. Freezing procedures using moderate temperatures must be based on time-temperature-mortality relationships for different stages of the relevant species. Previous conclusions that A. museorum is more resistant to low temperatures than several other dermestids are confirmed and acclimatisation suggested as the reason. Further investigations on the biochemical processes occurring in the insects during exposure to low temperatures could elucidate this further.
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... Many types of infested museum collections can be disinfested by freezing them in a chest freezer or a large commercial freezer (Bergh et al. 2006). Textiles, furniture, herbarium specimens, books, mammal and bird collections, as well as various ethnographic materials, have been successfully frozen for insect control. ...
... Certain alternative strategies (e.g. freezing and anoxia) have therefore been developed and used for a number of years (Bergh et al. 2003(Bergh et al. , 2006Child and Pinniger 2008). Low-temperature treatments are now used for quarantine prevention and infestation control in many museums worldwide. ...
This book aims to assess, evaluate and critically analyze the methods that are currently available for a judicious pest management in durable food. It presents and analyzes a vast amount of methods that are already in use in “real world” industrial applications.
After the phase-out of methyl bromide, but also the withdrawal of several insecticides and the continuously updated food safety regulations, there is a significant knowledge gap on the use of risk-reduced, ecologically-compatible control methods that can be used with success against stored-product insect species and related arthropods.
The importance of integrated pest management (IPM) is growing, but the concept as practiced for stored products might differ from IPM as historically developed for field crops. This book discusses a wide variety of control strategies used for stored product management and describes some of the IPM components. The editors included chemical and non-chemical methods, as both are essential in IPM. They set the scene for more information regarding emerging issues in stored product protection, such as emerging, alien and invasive species as threats for global food security, as well as the importance of stored-product arthropods for human health. Finally, the analysis of the economics of stored product protection is presented, from theory to practice.
... Reesa vespulae can be controlled by freezing or anoxic environments. Arevad [44] suggested that the larvae of R. vespulae were killed on exposure to −20 • C. Bergh and colleagues [45] exposed beetle larvae in blocks of seasoned oak (20 cm × 20 cm × 20 cm) to −20 • C for 72 h, which ensured total mortality. Most were killed at temperatures some 5 • C warmer, but in materials such as wool these more modest degrees of freezing were less effective, so −20 • C may be the safer choice. ...
The skin beetle Reesa vespulae is regularly found beyond North America where it originated. The larvae cause considerable concern in museums, as they damage hides or furs in addition to being a special source of damage to collections of dried plants in herbaria or collections of insects and other zoological specimens. Reesa vespulae arrived in Europe in the mid-20th century and was associated mostly with stored food products, but over time, it has become recognised as a museum pest. Although it is still uncommon and may only be observed in a small fraction of museums, when the insect is found in large numbers, it can cause problems. Catches from blunder traps in Austrian museums and from an online database in the UK were used to track changing concern over the insect. As a single female beetle can continue to reproduce because the species is parthenogenetic, its presence can persist over long periods of time. Although small populations in museums are typically found in the adult form, the larval forms are more common where a site is infested by high numbers, perhaps because the larvae and adults must range more widely for food. Although R. vespulae can be controlled using pesticides, it is also possible to kill the larvae within infested materials through freezing or anoxia.
... Arevad [44] suggested that the larvae of R. vespulae were killed on exposure to -20 °C for an hour. Bergh and co-workers [45] exposed the beetle larvae in blocks of seasoned oak (20✕20✕20 cm) at -20 °C for 72 h, which ensured total mortality. Most were killed at temperatures some 5 °C warmer, but in materials such as wool these more modest degrees of freezing were less effective, so -20 °C may be the safer choice. ...
The skin beetle Reesa vespulae is regularly found beyond North America where it originated. The larvae cause considerable concern in museums as it damages hides or furs in addition to being a special source of damage to collections of dried plants in herbaria or collections of insects and other zoological specimens. It arrived in Europe in the mid-20th century and was associated mostly with stored food products, but over time it has become recognised as a museum pest. Although still uncommon and may only be observed in a small fraction of museums, where the insect is found in large numbers it can cause problems. As a single female can continue to breed because the beetle is parthenogenetic, presence can persist over long periods of time. Although small populations in museums are typically found as the adult, the larval forms are more common where a site is infested by high numbers, perhaps because the larvae and adults must range more widely for food. Although Reesa vespulae can be controlled using pesticides, it is also possible to kill the larvae within infested materials through freezing or anoxia.
... It is also worth noting that insects, as ectothermic animals, exhibit temperature-dependent development that helps researchers understand their population dynamics and the timing of biological events. This is essential for predicting the activity and seasonality of pests and their natural enemies, which can be applied to pest occurrence prediction in storage management systems (Bergh et al., 2006). Controlling pests by relying solely on chemical methods will lead to the development of insecticide resistance and contamination of stored products with insecticide residues (Rajendran and Parveen, 2005). ...
Many species of hide, larder, and carpet beetles (Coleoptera, Dermestidae) are economically important pests of stored products of animal and plant origin, and also have high forensic application value. This study investigated the developmental duration of the immature stage of Dermestes frischii (Kugelann, 1792) under six constant temperatures (19, 22, 25, 28, 31, and 34 °C) and found that development was longest at 19 °C, taking 97.4 ± 7.9 days, and was shortest at 31 °C, taking 31.3 ± 7.2 days. The isomorphen diagram was established based on the developmental events under the different constant temperatures, and the thermobiological parameters of D. frischii were evaluated using linear thermal summation and curvilinear Optim SSI models. The thermal summation constant was 559.89, while the intrinsic optimum temperature and lower and upper lethal developmental thresholds were 24.65, 13.37, and 34.98 °C, respectively. The mortality rate and the mean number of larval instars increased under higher or lower temperatures. The mean instar duration of the first to the fifth instar was generally similar, while the instar duration was the shortest under high temperatures with the fastest developmental rate. We conclude that temperature has a separate effect on the number and duration of the larval instar of D. frischii. In addition, the larval morphological parameters were measured, and the ultrastructures of the antennae, mouthparts, and urogomphi were characterized. This work provides important basic data for storage pest control and minimum postmortem interval estimation of D. frischii in forensic entomology research and application.
... Several other papers have directly addressed the practical problem of time to complete cooling: Bergh et al. (2006) demonstrated the loss of efficacy through accidental thermal bridging of textile objects against the insulated wall of a small chest freezer but also ran mortality studies with several key species with insulation delays. Zhang (2012) sampled Dermestes maculatus over time at different depths of matting to examine efficacy in a model museum situation. ...
Collections in cultural institutions are vulnerable to many deleterious events. Insects of concern are a blend of 'household pests', typified by clothes moth and dermestid species, 'timber pests' such as anobiid and lyctid species and 'food pests' of kitchen, pantry and granary as collections are quite varied in their composition across museum, archive, library, gallery, historic properties and cultural centers. There is a distribution of scale of museums and concomitant resources to apply against all modes of deterioration, as well as accomplishing operational goals using the collections as a core resource. There is a strong need for museum pest control methods inside an integrated pest management framework to be efficacious, have minimal effect on objects, and be economical in their costs. Through the 1980's and 90's museum staff became increasingly knowledgeable about industrial hygiene, harmful substances used in preparation methods, preservative solutions and residual insecticides. Some collections have been tested for residual arsenic, mercury, DDT, and other contaminants. Fumigants were curtailed for health and environmental impact so ethylene oxide (ETO), phosphine and methyl bromide (MeBr) followed the loss of grain fumigants which had been applied as liquids in museum storage cabinets. Thermal and controlled atmosphere methods offered a way forward for many museums which found they could not continue previous practices for controlling insects on and inside their objects. To gain widespread adoption, efficacy data had to be assembled to create confident schedules for treatment. Concerns about adverse effects arose as thermal treatments conflicted with the conservation profession's ideal of tight climate control for object preservation. Rudimentary knowledge on how humidity changes with temperature exacerbated concerns when cooling or heating an object. This paper shows the existing guidance for thermal efficacy against museum pest insects, how mitigation of adverse effects has been achieved in application of low and elevated temperature control, and topics for research.
... Thermal stress can be used in insect pest management, and both cold and heat have been used for the management of insects pests of stored commodities (Dean 1911, Mathlein 1961, Burges and Burrell 1964, Bergh et al. 2006, Wilches et al. 2016. Structures used for processing and storage can be exposed to high temperatures by introducing heated air and raising the temperature to lethal levels to eliminate insect populations infesting the structure (Fields et al. 2012). ...
Extreme temperature has been used as an alternative to chemical treatments for stored product pests for years. Resistance to heat or cold treatments has not been documented in stored product insects, but repeated use of ineffective treatments could lead to adaptive tolerance. Trogoderma variabile (Dermestidae) is a common pest of stored products, and the larval stage is highly resistant to cold and destructive. We artificially selected populations by inducing chill coma at four different cold temperature treatments: 3 and 5 h at -10°C and 3 and 5 h at 0°C. Recovery time was highly heritable after selection for seven generations for decreased recovery time (cold tolerance) and increased recovery time (cold susceptibility) at all time and temperature combinations. Three replicate populations for each time and temperature combination varied substantially, suggesting different mutations in each population were probably responsible for selected phenotypes. Body size decreased in populations selected for cold susceptibility compared with those selected for cold tolerance and survivorship to long-term cold stress increased in the cold-tolerant populations compared with the susceptible populations. After the cessation of the selection experiment, cold tolerance dissipated within four generations from the populations at -10°C, but was maintained in populations exposed to 0°C. Our results suggest that warehouse beetles can adapt to cold stress quickly, but in the absence of cold stress, the proportion of cold-tolerant/susceptible individuals is quickly reduced, suggesting that some of the mutations responsible for these phenotypes may be associated with fitness costs under normal conditions.
... Anheuser and Garcia Gomez (2013) reported a nonsuccessful treatment against webbing clothes moths in a collection; here residual pesticides are probably responsible for the failure (Anheuser 2016). Other methods used in museums today are freezing (Tanimura and Yamaguchi 1995;Bergh et al. 2006;Strang and Kigawa 2009;Berzolla et al. 2011a), controlled heat treatment with regulated humidity (Strang 1992;Child 1994;Roux and Leary 2001;Strang 2001;Ackery et al. 2002Ackery et al. , 2005Beiner and Ogilvie 2005;Ball et al. 2011), nitrogen fumigation (Gilberg 1989(Gilberg , 1991Rust and Kennedy 1993;Valentin 1993;Selwitz and Maekawa 1998;Maekawa and Elert 2003;Berzolla et al. 2011b), CO 2 fumigation (Valentin 1993), and also the application of toxic gases like sulfuryl fluoride (and formerly phosphine (Derrick et al. 1990;Binker 1993). ...
We report on biological control of an active infestation by biscuit beetles (Stegobium paniceum) of museum objects (Old Masters paintings) in the storage facilities of the Museum of Fine Arts in Vienna. Because chemical and non-chemical treatment methods would have been very problematic, the release of parasitic wasps (Lariophagus distinguendus) was discussed and accepted by the director of the collection. We released 3000 wasps every month from August 2013 until September 2014 in the two infested storage rooms and monitored the activity of biscuit beetles on sticky blunder traps and light traps, and also by visual inspection. In the insect monitoring of 2014 until 2018 no more biscuit beetles were found in the two storage depositories, showing that the treatment was 100% successful. To our knowledge, this is the first proof of a fully successful biological control of a museum pest using parasitoids only, and also of stored product/food pest, outside a laboratory experimental setup. This biological pest control method allowed avoiding negative side effects such as contamination from treatments with biocides, or costly logistics in case of chemical-free methods.
An incoming collection in the Collection Centre of the Amsterdam Museum was transported and treated against possible active pests in a freezer truck. This method turned out to be safe, quick, and cost-effective.
Specimens from zoological collections play a pivotal role in improving scientific knowledge in many natural science disciplines. To guarantee an optimum state of conservation and ensure their usefulness, the preparation process employed is crucial. Skins and skeletons are key elements in vertebrate scientific collections and, ideally, are prepared from recently deceased animals; however, specimens are often stored in a frozen state for a long time (years) prior to preparation. Whether the duration of this frozen state has a deleterious effect on preparation quality has rarely been studied. The main objective of this study was thus to contribute towards research into zoological preparation by testing to see whether prolonged frozen storage hinders the preparation of bird skins and skeletons. We used the common buzzard (Buteo buteo) and the barn owl (Tyto alba) as biological models. Our results showed that long-term frozen storage led to weight loss, bone marrow acidification and solidification, and hampered skin preparation. The necropsy affected weight loss and decreased the skin tear resistance, probably due to tissue dehydration. Thus, prolonged frozen storage appears to have a harmful effect on the preparation quality of vertebrate specimens. Since frozen storage could ultimately have an impact on the conservation and scientific use of museum specimens, practices should be implemented to minimise the amount of time specimens are frozen or to mitigate any detrimental effects. More importance should be attached to research on zoological preparation since it is fundamental for optimising the quality, conservation status, and value of museum collections.
Khapra beetle, Trogoderma granarium Everts, is one of the world's most important pests of stored grain. Common in Africa and Asia, it is a quarantine insect for much of the rest of the world where methyl bromide has traditionally been used for its control. However, this ozone-depleting fumigant is now heavily restricted, and alternate methods of control are required. In a two-step process, we examined the use of high-temperature exposure as one such method of control. First, different life stages were held at 45°C for different periods to calculate LT 50 (lethal time to 50% mortality) values. In descending order, the most heat-tolerant life stages at 45°C were diapausing larvae (LT 50 = 41-122 h) > nondiapausing larvae (LT 50 = 47 h) > adults (LT 50 = 33 h) > pupae (LT 50 = 25 h) > eggs (LT 50 = 10 h). Second, diapausing larvae (the most heat-tolerant stage) were held at 45, 50, 55, and 60°C for different periods to calculate LT 50 , LT 95 , LT 99 , and probit 9 (99.9968% mortality) values. Estimated LT 99 values for diapausing larvae were 288 h at 45°C, 6 h at 50°C, 1.1 h at 55°C, and 1 h at 60°C. Based on these results, an exposure of 2 h at 60°C is recommended to control T. granarium with high temperatures. To meet requirements for control of quarantine pests, exposure of between 2 and 12 h at 50-60°C is recommended to cause probit 9 mortality, but additional experiments are needed to get a better estimate of probit 9.
Berendsohn, W. G., Anagnostopoulos, A., Hagedorn, G., Jakupovic, J., Nimis, P. L., Valdés, B., Güntsch, A., Pankhurst, R. J. & White, R. J.: A comprehensive reference model for biological collections and surveys. – Taxon 48: 511‐562. 1999. ISSN 0040‐0262.
The article describes an extended entity‐relationship model covering biological collections, i.e. natural history collections of biotic origin; data collections used in floristic or faunistic mapping, survey, and monitoring projects; live collections such as botanical or zoological gardens, seed banks, microbial strain collections and gene banks; as well as novel collection kinds such as of secondary metabolites or DNA samples. The central element in the model is the unit, which stands for any object containing, being or being part of a living, fossilised, or conserved organism. The unit may be gathered (observed or collected) in the field and derived units may recursively emerge from it through specimen processing, breeding or cultivation. In addition, units may form associations (e.g. host/parasite), ensembles (lichen on a rock with fossils), and assemblages (herd, artificial grouping). Gathering events, specimen management (acquisition, accession, storage, preservation, exchange, ownership), and taxonomic or other identifications relate to the unit and are treated in detail. Geographic and geo‐ecological data have not been fully modelled; taxonomic (name) data and descriptive information are treated by reference to other published models.
We reviewed the decay patterns and lifetimes (time to reach 95% mass loss) of coarse woody debris (CWD) on the forest floor. The objectives were to identify the factors influencing the decomposition process of CWD and to provide estimates of lifetimes for CWD from Australian tree species. This information is required for greenhouse accounting of forestry activities and land use change as well as the sustainable management of CWD in forest ecosystems. The analysis of a global data set on decay rates of CWD showed that, in particular, the mean annual temperature was a main driver of decomposition, accounting for 34% of the variation in decay rates. The Q10, the factor by which biological processes accelerate when temperature increases by 10°C, was 2.53. Additional determinants of CWD decay rates were the initial density of wood and the diameter of logs. Median and average lifetimes derived from 184 decay rates were 49 and 92 years, respectively, which is considerably higher than the 10-year default for all litter proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The pattern of decay in most cases followed a negative exponential curve. To overcome the paucity of information on decomposition of CWD in Australian forests and woodlands, decay rates for a large number of species were derived from wood durability and decay resistance studies. For native Australian species, lifetimes ranged from 7 years in Eucalyptus regnans to 375 years in E. camaldulensis. The lifetimes for timber durability Classes 1-4 were 54, 39, 26 and 11 years, respectively, below 30° latitude and without the influence of termites. However, the experimental conditions under which durability and decay resistance are commonly determined are substantially different from the situation under which CWD decomposes in the field. These estimates must therefore be regarded as minimum lifetimes for CWD of most species. To determine decay rates of CWD with greater certainty, long-term field experiments in a wide range of ecosystems are required. BT020 14 Decom p os i ti on r ates of coar s e woody debr is —a r e vi e w
The complexity of natural history collection information and similar information within the scope of biodiversity informatics poses significant challenges for effective long term stewardship of that information in electronic form. This paper discusses the principles of good relational database design, how to apply those principles in the practical implementation of databases, and examines how good database design is essential for long term stewardship of biodiversity information. Good design and implementation principles are illustrated with examples from the realm of biodiversity information, including an examination of the costs and benefits of different ways of storing hierarchical information in relational databases. This paper also discusses typical problems present in legacy data, how they are characteristic of efforts to handle complex information in simple databases, and methods for handling those data during data migration.
Many museum objects, particularly natural history specimens and artifacts made of organic materials, have been treated with pesticides to preserve them. This has resulted in residual chemicals being present which may pose a health hazard. Since docu- mentation of the preparation and treatment of museum objects with pesticides was often sporadic, we may not know whether an artifact is contaminated. Earlier treatment records may help determine what compounds should be tested for in a particular collection. A major concern in the analysis of museum objects and sacred objects in particular is sampling. Ideally, methods of analysis that do not require the removal of any samples from the object should be employed. If necessary, microscopic samples can be removed from objects pro- vided they are representative of the object as a whole. The location of the pesticide residues within the object and the type of sample taken both have a critical bearing on the outcome of the analysis. Surveys of collections for the presence of chemical elements with atomic number equal to or greater than 20 (calcium) can be done without sampling using portable x-ray fluorescence spectrometers (XRF). Detection limits, cost and time are important factors to be considered in choosing appropriate techniques for analysis. Quantitative results for arsenic, mercury or lead compounds can be obtained by atomic absorption spectrophotom- etry (AAS) or inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Anal- ysis of organic pesticide residues can be done by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Unknown powders and residues present on the surface of an object can be ana- lyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), polarized light microscopy (PLM), or x-ray diffraction (XRD) for preliminary identification. This paper provides a survey of various methods used in the analysis of pesticide residues on museum artifacts.
The historical use of arsenic, mercury, and various organic pesticides for pres- ervation of museum objects has led to justifiable and valid concerns regarding the potential health risks of humans coming in contact with them. As the past treatment of specific objects within individual collections is for the most part unknown and undocumented, chemical analysis represents the most reliable means for determining whether an object has been contaminated and the level of contamination. It is important that museum professionals and other interested parties understand the analytical methods that can be applied to this problem, the details involved in designing and effecting a study, and the relative advantages and disadvantages of each technique. This paper outlines the various stages involved in a chem- ical analysis, reviews the sundry analytical methods for the determination of arsenic, mer- cury, and organic pesticides, and provides a framework which will hopefully assist non- experts in determining which method is most appropriate for a specific application. The past practice of applying mercury, arsenic, and various solutions of pes- ticide agents to museum pieces was intended to protect these objects from damage by rodents, insects, and microorganisms. Several excellent papers document the history and use of the methods used to treat these objects (Goldberg 1996, Hawks and Williams 1986). Given the lack of records documenting the treatment of objects in individual collections, chemical analysis represents one of the few re- liable means for ascertaining whether or not an object has been contaminated with these agents. Although such analyses have been performed on objects in various collections, only a few references and case studies on these analyses are reported in the literature. Out of these references, few if any provide details on the relative merits and deficiencies of specific methods, their limits of detection (LODs), selectivity and reliability, and necessary equipment and costs, and none provide a thorough review of the various methods that can be brought to bear on this problem. Ad- ditionally, it should be noted that no regulatory agency is responsible for devel- oping standardized protocols or methods for this application. Hence, it is under- standable that there is much confusion as to how to best effect these analyses. The purpose of this article is to provide a framework on these issues from the perspective of an analytical chemist. It describes the various steps involved in a chemical analysis: defining the problem, selecting and refining a method, sam- pling, data acquisition, interpretation, and reporting the results. It goes into detail on the various analytical methods for the analysis of heavy metals and pesticides, and discusses their applicability and utility for measuring these contaminants on museum objects. While it is understood that much of this information is of common knowledge to experts in chemical analysis, museums, and forensic laboratories, the same