文物蟲害
【常見的日本梳子文物蟲害】
這支日本的梳子梳齒間有幾個咖啡色的橢圓形物體 這在放很久的日式梳子非常的常見 日式梳子的材質除了木質外,多的是以牛角,玳瑁或是硝化纖維素(賽路璐)(Cellulose nitrate) 卡在梳齒間的這些物質,其實是一種幼蟲的蛻皮 這種幼蟲叫做姬圓鰹節蟲(Anthrenus verbasci) 這種蟲的幼蟲喜歡吃角質類的物品 如天然纖維,皮革和皮膚中的蛋白質 所以是日常生活常見的害蟲 也是博物館角質或是有機質物件的常見危害 這種蟲的幼蟲體型比成蟲還要長 成蟲呈現圓形,長大後就不再吃這種梳子了(!) 所以通常在梳齒間發現的會是幼蟲(的蛻皮) 如果這把梳子是現代的塑膠做的 就不會這樣了 所以這些生物遺痕也可以當成分辨材質的一種方法 |
The photographs show the larval skins of the varied carper beetle (Anthrenus verbasci) or 姬圓鰹節蟲 in Chinese. They are a common pest of domestic houses and museums where the larvae will eat all types of protein found in natural fibers, leather and skins, and can damage carpets, furniture, clothing, and museum insect collections. the adults are small beetles around 1.7-3.5 mm long with a white, brown and black spotted body. The larval form of A. verbasci is longer than the adult, measuring up to 4-5 millimetres. They are a light brown in colour and covered in fine hairs, leading to their common name of "wooly bears". The species is found in Europe, North Africa and northern Asia. Larvae feed on keratin found in natural fibers (animal hair and feathers) but they will also eat horn as in these combs, and silk. After reaching a maximum size the larvae go through a dormancy period prior to pupation into the adult stage. The photographs show that they like to crawl into tight spaces such as the gaps between the teeth of the combs to hide during their metamorphosis. The adult beetle emerges from this skin in early summer and feed on the nectar and pollen of flowers. It is the larvae or grubs that do the damage, eating large holes or pits in horn combs and hairpins.
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