Moths in Michigan

Southern Michigan has seen a recent moth infestation.

Earlier this week I saw several fluttering outside my windows, and several managed to make their way into the library. We generally found them dead on the floor. Moths are not something one generally wants inside libraries because some moths are known to devour the stuff of books, like paper, cloth and leather. We were naturally concerned whether these moths were going to start devouring our collections. After some online research, and consulting an entomologist friend of mine (everyone should have an entomologist friend – I have two!) I feel safe to say that these critters, armyworm moths, will not likely start munching on our collection. Libraries should be concerned about house moths (pictured below).

The entomologist pointed me in the direction of a nice pest identification site for pests that are fond of museum and library settings.




There are plenty of good library related Integrated Pest Management information online. NEDCC's IPM leaflet includes a good bibliography.