| Abstract: |
Simple Summary: Museums are concerned about damage to collections by insects; a risk that can increase under a changing climate or through larger numbers of invasive pests introduced with imported materials, exhibition loans and international travel. These changes have led to the appearance of novel species of silverfish and beetles in these buildings. Carpet beetles are dermestids (2000 species worldwide). Two important genera are studied here Anthrenus and Attagenus, which were caught in 31 museums, libraries and storerooms from locations across the east of Austria. The catch of these two types of carpet beetles in the buildings was loosely proportionate. However, colder buildings seemed to favour species such as Anthrenus fuscus. Anthrenus olgae, though frequently caught in Austria, appears less common elsewhere, suggesting carpet beetles have different ranges in Europe. A warmer future is likely to mean an increasing number of different species becoming a potential threat to heritage collections. Museum collections are at risk from insects. A changing climate or increased amounts of imported materials, exhibition loans and international travel, can increase exotic species. Heritage properties are often monitored for pests, so we used trapping data from 31 Austrian museums, libraries and storerooms. The carpet beetles Anthrenus spp. and Attagenus spp. studied here, showed that the catch of these two species in buildings was correlated. Unheated libraries show high catch rates for Anthrenus spp., Attagenus spp. seemed more often caught in heated/urban museums. Anthrenus verbasci, Anthrenus olgae and Anthrenus museorum account for almost 98% of our catch. Anthrenus verbasci and Anthrenus olgae are commonly found occurring together suggesting they form a core ecological pair, found in most buildings. Rarer Anthrenus fuscus appears typically at locations lacking winter heating. Attagenus smirnovi and Attagenus unicolor accounted for 95% of this genus in the buildings. There are notable differences in the types of carpet beetle across European heritage environments. Anthrenus olgae, often trapped in Austria, is uncommon elsewhere, while Anthrenus sarnicus, fairly common in the UK, is rare elsewhere. Not enough is known about the range of heritage insects across Europe, which is increasingly relevant to management under a changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |