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What
is the Integrated Pest Management Plan?
This is a set of guidelines
we follow to deal with the threat of insect damage to the
herbarium collections. Some insects (in this case, the herbarium
beetle Lasioderma sp.) consume dried plant material
and can rapidly destroy herbarium specimens. “Integrated
pest management” aims to prevent insect outbreaks
and to deal with any problems without the use of pesticides
that can be harmful to humans and the environment. The KSU
Herbarium plan emphasizes a non-toxic approach as possible,
but we do use pesticides (e.g., napthalene, pyrethrins)
under special circumstances (see below). In order to make
this approach successful, all herbarium workers must strictly
adhere to the policies outlined here.
What
does this mean for day-to-day use of the Herbarium?
- Plant specimens are to be stored in herbarium cabinets
when not in use; under no circumstances should specimens
be left out in the herbarium room overnight. Herbarium beetles
are active at night, and it is easy to incur an infestation
when plant material is left sitting around the herbarium.
Whenever any specimens are found that have been left out
overnight, they will be taken to the mounting room for freezing
(and unavailable for use for several days). If a cabinet
is discovered that has been left open or improperly closed
(see below), all of its contents will have to be frozen.
Note that freshly mounted specimens will be left out overnight
(up to a couple of days) as they dry in the mounting room
only. All such specimens are frozen before filing in the
collections.
- Herbarium cabinets must be properly closed (top and bottom).
Some of our cases are difficult to close; try lifting up
or pushing down on the handle and gently pressing the door
closed. Ask the staff for assistance with any problem cabinets.
- Any apparent recent insect damage should be brought to
the attention of the Curator. We must be on the lookout
for insect problems in any of the cabinets. When possible
signs of insect problems are detected, the corresponding
herbarium cabinet(s) will be carefully checked.
- Dealing with fresh plant material… We do not keep
fresh plant material in the herbarium. However, fresh plants
are routinely brought in for identification. These plants
should be delivered directly to Mark Mayfield; if Dr. Mayfield
is unavailable, they should be placed in the specimen box
outside the main door.
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How do we
deal with new plant specimens entering the Herbarium (newly
mounted collections, specimen loans from other herbaria)?
All such material must be well
frozen (-20C or below), for a minimum of three full days.
Three days is a guideline for loosely stacked specimens; it
is critical that the actual plant material reach and remain
at -20C, and fast cool down times are ideal. Thus, a loan
box that is very tightly packed may actually need to be frozen
for well over a week. Since a constant cold temperature is
important, the freezer should not be opened except when absolutely
necessary. We currently have one staff member in charge of
loading and unloading the freezer, and this occurs weekly.
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How will
the curatorial staff deal with an insect infestation?
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The entire contents of
the cabinet will be hard frozen. Immediately, the specimens
will be boxed and the boxes placed in thick plastic bags
with no holes. This will trap most insects within the
plastic, and they will die in the freezer (extended time).
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The cabinet will be vacuumed.
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“Tri-die”
will be sprayed in all the cracks within the cabinet.
This spray contains pyrethrins, toxins that break down
fairly quickly, as well as silica gel that cuts the insects
if they walk on it. Thus, it has both a short- and long-term
effect.
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A container of napthalene
(from our large store!) will be placed in the cabinet.
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Specimens will be replaced,
treatment information will be recorded on the “activity
sheet,” and the cabinet will be checked regularly.
In addition, the curatorial
staff will inspect specimens in neighboring cabinets for
signs of infestation.
In which
cabinets would an infestation be most likely to occur?
Some of the “problem”
families are: Asclepiadaceae, Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Apiaceae,
Brassicaceae, Ericaceae, Caprifoliaceae, and Valerianaceae.
Some things don’t seem very attractive to herbarium
beetles (e.g., most Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Pinaceae, Juglandaceae,
Fagaceae, Betulaceae, etc.). The curatorial staff regularly
inspects cabinets housing groups of plants that are known
to be particularly susceptible to herbarium beetles.
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