Major insect pests and their associated, diagnostic signs
Common name
Powderpost beetles
Presence indicators and characteristics
Small round holes in wood and floury frass. Lyctids are small brownish adults, attack only hardwoods. Prevalent across Canada and a common problem.
Latin name
Lyctus brunneus and others
Common name
Furniture beetle Cigarette beetle Drugstore beetle
Presence indicators and characteristics
Small round holes in wood and granular frass. Anobiids are most common in wood objects of European origin, but native species (Hemicoelus spp.) can attack structures.
S. paniceum and L. serricorne are severe pests of organics in collections.
Latin name
Anobium punctatum, Lasioderma serricorne, Stegobium paniceum
Common name
Longhorn beetles Old house borer
Presence indicators and characteristics
Large oval holes and cavities in timbers. Cerambycid spp. are a timber pest in Canada. Most will not reinfest seasoned wood.
While introduced species are now damaging hardwood and softwood trees, only Hylotrupes bajulus(old house borer) has the potential to be a severe pest in museum collections due to its capacity to reinfest old timber. It is predominantly limited to the eastern United States.Latin name
Hylotrupes bajulus
Common name
Wharf borer
Presence indicators and characteristics
Wharf borers have been found in Canadian heritage sites associated with damp timber or wood mill waste.
Latin name
Nacerdes melanura
Common name
Flathead borer
Presence indicators and characteristics
Large oval holes in timber. Metallic-coloured buprestid borers have emerged from timbers in historic sites and collections, sometimes many years after cutting the timber. They are not likely to reinfest.
Latin name
Buprestis aurulenta
Common name
Hide beetles Carpet beetles
Presence indicators and characteristics
Brown-banded “furry” larvae and cast skins found on furs, feathers, or roaming on objects, frass piles, and loose hairs in drawer bottoms. Among the most common of collection pests. Dermestids are natural scavengers of nests and dead animals. Adults associated with wildflowers. Natural history museums use colonies of Dermestes maculatus to clean specimens
Latin name
Anthrenus verbasci, Thylodrias contractus, Attagenus unicolor, Dermestes maculatus, Anthrenus scrophularia
Common name
Webbing clothes moth Casemaking clothes moth
Presence indicators and characteristics
Small, white larvae in webbing or flattened cocoons on surfaces, grazed “channels” on or holes through wool fabric. Common in historic collections and very destructive. Tineid adults are small, whitish moths with fringed wings. Sometimes confused with Indian meal moth infestations.
(Cracked seeds, grains) but Plodia interpunctella has coppery “shoulders”.
Latin name
Tineola bisselliella, Tinea pellionella
Common name
Silverfish
Presence indicators and characteristics
Grazed surfaces or ragged holes in paper. Silvery fish-shaped nymphs and adults, Lepisma have two sweeping antennae and three trailing hairs.
Latin name
Lepisma saccharina
Common name
German cockroach
Presence indicators and characteristics
Nymphs and adults are brown with two dark stripes on thorax. Blattella are very fecund. They aggregate on spilled foods; starches preferred. Can affect objects made with starch pastes.
Latin name
Blatella germanica
Common name
Book louse
Presence indicators and characteristics
Tiny, translucent, bulbous abdomens, commonly wingless. Psocids favour dampness, but can roam for a couple of weeks in drier locations. Commonly grazing microbial contaminants on paper, and a warning of damp conditions.
Latin name
Liposcelis spp.
Common name
Carpenter ant
Presence indicators and characteristics
Large black ants, commonly seen roaming in springtime. Camponotus will hollow out rotted trees or timber, ejecting frass that looks like saw shavings. Can be severe pest of timber in historic buildings, fencing, and susceptible trees on grounds.
Latin name
Camponotus pennsylvanicus, Camponotus herculeanus, Camponotus modoc
Common name
Termites
Presence indicators and characteristics
Subterranean; larvae may build shelter tubes. Adult Reticulitermes can be seen flying (as ants do). Unlike ants, termites have a thicker “waist”. They are a regional hazard in Canada (southern Ontario, southern British Columbia, southern Manitoba). While not yet destructive to heritage in Canada, a potential hazard where present.
Latin name
Reticulitermes flavipes, Reticulitermes hesperus
CCI Technical Bulletin Nº 29.
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