October 4, 2017
Bugs: most people aren’t fans of them. But you may not realize they actually play a role in the curation of museum collections.
At least identifying and dealing with them does.
It’s necessary for museum staff to know what threats are present in collections, so, once a year, a GBL staff member volunteers (or is volunteered) for the somewhat gruesome job of collecting bug traps and ID’ing the creepy crawlies inside.
This year, Collections Assistant Alex Elliott took on the project.
There were 14 traps set out throughout the collections in the GBL basement, put out on June 1, 2016, and replaced August 30, 2017. There were a few different types of bugs found, which provided an opportunity to see to what extent bugs were posing a threat to the collections, and to learn what the bugs can tell us about the environments of our facility.
For example, some types of bugs are drawn to moisture, and others to dark, dry spaces. Each requires a slightly different approach in treatment, and this acts as another source of information about issues like humidity inside the collections areas.
Take sprickets (also known as Cave Crickets): they are attracted to moisture, and the fact that they were found could mean there is a moisture problem in a particular area. This discovery led Alex to recommend weather stripping for the garage door for a tighter preventative seal.
“I do think this is an important skill for anyone with collections to care for,” Alex said. “And, if nothing else, it was interesting to see online that most collecting institutions have similar pest problems!”
While it doesn’t seem like something you’d initially think about, the presence of bugs is something every museum and institution has to deal with. And, as Alex pointed out, it’s a great learning experience.