[Nhcoll-l] clothes moths in baleen

[Chris Grinter]

How long did you leave them at -25C? Duration may be the issue. Cycling
through freeze/thaw may actually allow larvae or pupae to better survive,
but 14-21 days at -20C should be sufficient to kill all stages of *Tineola*.
Also take into account how long it may take for the interior of the object
to reach -20, so your clock shouldn't start until the interior is at temp.
I don't know whether or not freezing is good for baleen though.

Chris

Christopher C. Grinter
Collection Manager of Entomology
Secretary, The Lepidopterists’ Society
Subject Editor: Lepidoptera, The Pacific Coast Entomological Society
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On Fri, Mar 24, 2023 at 4:53 PM Chris J. CONROY <ondatra at berkeley.edu>
wrote:

> Dear list,
>     Three years ago we found clothes moths, *Tineola* *bisselliella*,
> living and reproducing in 2 1-ft square pieces of dried baleen from a *Megaptera
> novaeangliae*, Humpback whale. We cleaned it up, bagged it, and froze and
> thawed it a few times at -25C. Then the pandemic. Unfortunately, the moths
> have returned, presumably from not being killed by several freeze-thaw
> cycles. Use of tools and compressed air is not going to be sufficient to
> remove all the moths since they are deep within the plates.
>      Does anyone have suggestions for effectively treating these items to
> destroy the moths, but also not damage the baleen too much?  Has anyone
> seen moths feeding on baleen in museums before?
>
> Thanks in advance for your ideas,
>
> Chris Conroy
> Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
> UC Berkeley
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