Biological Pests

Tropical insects

Most of the pests found in museums, libraries and art galleries are cosmopolitan in nature, that is, they can be found infesting artefacts throughout the world, irrespective of the climatic zones in which they are located. These pests vary in species, but by and large the pest and its damage will remain the same.

The most common insect pests of museums in the tropics are borers, termites, clothes moths, carpet beetles, silverfish and, to a lesser extent, cockroaches.

The high temperatures and humidity found in the tropics are conducive to a higher incidence of insect attack. Some pests, notably the termite Mastotermes Darwiniensis, are found exclusively in the tropical north of Australia.