An 'Odd' discovery...

[Ken Kinman]

James,
      Traps apparently don't work well for Thylodrias.  Jeremy Jacobs (1997)
suggested killing Odd beetle infestations with a Carbon Dioxide Chamber
treatment (or if that is not feasible, the use of paradichlorobenzene).
Here's a link to the issue which contains Jeremy's article:

http://www.nmnh.si.edu/anthro/ConservL/ICOMnews/N15/icom0497.htm

           ----- Good luck,
                      Ken
****************************************
>From: James Macklin <macklin at ACNATSCI.ORG>
>Reply-To: James Macklin <macklin at ACNATSCI.ORG>
>To: TAXACOM at USOBI.ORG
>Subject: An 'Odd' discovery...
>Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2003 09:40:05 -0400
>
>Dear Colleagues,
>
>We have made an interesting discovery here in the Herbarium of the Academy
>of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and would like to further our knowledge
>through input from you. The story behind the discovery is somewhat long
>-winded but I will be brief. Many of you are aware of our past beetle
>problems and that we have recently completed an upgrade of our cabinetry
>and compactor system thanks largely to a BRC grant from NSF. For two years
>now we have been actively freezing our collection for a period of one week
>at -20 degrees C (we are about half done). We expected a carry over of some
>beetles into the new system since we have not frozen all the material. In
>the last few months we noticed larvae in cabinets where the plant material
>had been recently frozen. Through discussion with Entomologist colleagues
>we surmised that the larvae witnessed were likely a product of the thawing
>process which acts as a wake up call for eggs to hatch. Thus our first
>question to those in herbaria is have you witnessed this phenomenon in your
>collections? Next, have any of you tried a cycle of freezing, thawing and
>then refreezing, and if so, how many days in and out?
>
>The story gets more interesting* We assumed that all the larvae we were
>seeing were from Cigarette beetles (Lasioderma serricornes) since the adult
>beetles appear on our traps and, based on what is known of their habits,
>these animals are implicated as the predominant if not exclusive pest in
>the herbarium. One of our curatorial assistants took a more careful look at
>these larvae and noticed that they did not look the same. Our Entomologists
>confirmed this and as it turns out the most common larvae are of the Odd
>beetle (Thylodrias contractus). So, our question to other knowledgeable
>herbarium managers and Entomologists out there is do these 'Odd' beetles
>like to eat plant material preferentially? The larvae certainly do a good
>job of devouring the dead Cigarette beetles. Does anyone know a good way to
>trap out these beetles? So far I have not been able to locate a pheromone
>lure for the Odd beetle.
>
>Any information would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to reply off list
>if you wish.
>
>Best,
>
>James
>
>
>
>James Macklin Ph. D.
>Collection Manager
>Botany Department
>Biodiversity Research Group
>The Academy of Natural Sciences
>1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
>Philadelphia, PA  19103-1195
>Phone: (215) 405-5088
>FAX: (215) 299-1028
>email: macklin at acnatsci.org
>http://www.acnatsci.org/research/biodiv/botany.html


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