Effect of Indoor Climate and Habitat Change on Museum Insects during COVID-19 Closures

COVID-19 spread globally and, as there was little immunity, quarantine, isolation, and social distancing became widely practiced. As people were restricted to their homes in many countries, public venues, such as museums, galleries, and historic houses, were typically closed. This allowed insect abu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Heritage 2021-12, Vol.4 (4), p.3497-3506
Main Authors:	Brimblecombe, Peter, Pachler, Marie-Christine, Querner, Pascal
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Climate change Coronaviruses COVID-19 Disease transmission Flooring Food Habitats Historic buildings & sites Hofburg Museum Humidity Insects Keratin Museums pheromone traps Quarantine Schönbrunn Palace silverfish Technisches Museum Wien Textiles Weltmuseum Wien
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	COVID-19 spread globally and, as there was little immunity, quarantine, isolation, and social distancing became widely practiced. As people were restricted to their homes in many countries, public venues, such as museums, galleries, and historic houses, were typically closed. This allowed insect abundance, under changed conditions, to be explored using traps from the Technical Museum, Schönbrunn Palace, Hofburg Museum, and Weltmuseum in Vienna. The trap contents reveal an increase in Lepisma saccharinum, the common silverfish, as well as in the Zygentoma Ctenolepisma longicaudatum and C. calvum at some museums. Other insects such as Tineola bisselliella, Anthrenus verbasci, and Attagenus smirnovi, though found in reasonable numbers, did not increase. Museum interiors were likely a little cooler and drier during lockdown, but this difference is too small to explain the increased silverfish activity. The larger rooms were certainly quieter, which allowed insects freedom to range more widely. Nevertheless, museums did not observe increased damage to collections from the larger numbers. The infestations during the closures suggest a need for low level cleaning and regular inspections, with an initial focus examining those areas frequented by insects in the past.
ISSN:	2571-9408 2571-9408