Insect Distribution in a Vacant Multi-Level Office Building

The webbing clothes moth (<i>Tineola bisselliella</i>) causes extensive and costly damage to fabrics, furnishings, and museum objects. It is best known from its presence in homes, museums, and historic properties, while infestations in office buildings are not as well understood. Offices...

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Main Authors: Peter Brimblecombe, Laure Jeannottat, Pascal Querner
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-06-01
Series:Insects
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/7/578
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author Peter Brimblecombe
Laure Jeannottat
Pascal Querner
author_facet Peter Brimblecombe
Laure Jeannottat
Pascal Querner
author_sort Peter Brimblecombe
collection DOAJ
description The webbing clothes moth (<i>Tineola bisselliella</i>) causes extensive and costly damage to fabrics, furnishings, and museum objects. It is best known from its presence in homes, museums, and historic properties, while infestations in office buildings are not as well understood. Offices typically have more frequent cleaning, fewer quiet habitats, less food availability, and fewer breeding environments for moths, which may explain the lower abundance. Nevertheless, they can be introduced with materials or by employees whose homes have a moth infestation. This study examines the distribution of different insect pests determined from pheromone traps set out in an unoccupied multi-floor office building in Switzerland. <i>Tineola bisselliella</i> dominated the insect catch but was mostly found in the aisles on the lower floors. The larger rooms tended to have a greater insect catch. Carpet beetles (<i>Attagenus smirnovi</i>) and silverfish (<i>Zygentoma</i>) were also found, although in smaller numbers, and often preferred the basement floors. The ghost silverfish (<i>Ctenolepisma calvum</i>) dominated the <i>Zygentoma</i>, even though it has been rare until recently in Switzerland. The study suggests the need for Integrated Pest Management within office buildings. In addition, in unoccupied buildings under renovation, with no obvious sources of food, insect pests still need monitoring.
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spelling doaj.art-9b97f66135544a56b6faa806c99775322023-11-18T19:48:27ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502023-06-0114757810.3390/insects14070578Insect Distribution in a Vacant Multi-Level Office BuildingPeter Brimblecombe0Laure Jeannottat1Pascal Querner2Department of Marine Environment and Engineering, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, TaiwanSwiss National Library, Hallwylstrasse 15, 3003 Bern, SwitzerlandNatural History Museum Vienna, Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna, AustriaThe webbing clothes moth (<i>Tineola bisselliella</i>) causes extensive and costly damage to fabrics, furnishings, and museum objects. It is best known from its presence in homes, museums, and historic properties, while infestations in office buildings are not as well understood. Offices typically have more frequent cleaning, fewer quiet habitats, less food availability, and fewer breeding environments for moths, which may explain the lower abundance. Nevertheless, they can be introduced with materials or by employees whose homes have a moth infestation. This study examines the distribution of different insect pests determined from pheromone traps set out in an unoccupied multi-floor office building in Switzerland. <i>Tineola bisselliella</i> dominated the insect catch but was mostly found in the aisles on the lower floors. The larger rooms tended to have a greater insect catch. Carpet beetles (<i>Attagenus smirnovi</i>) and silverfish (<i>Zygentoma</i>) were also found, although in smaller numbers, and often preferred the basement floors. The ghost silverfish (<i>Ctenolepisma calvum</i>) dominated the <i>Zygentoma</i>, even though it has been rare until recently in Switzerland. The study suggests the need for Integrated Pest Management within office buildings. In addition, in unoccupied buildings under renovation, with no obvious sources of food, insect pests still need monitoring.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/7/578<i>Tineola bisselliella</i>IPMpheromone trapsSwitzerlandspatial distribution<i>Zygentoma</i>
spellingShingle Peter Brimblecombe
Laure Jeannottat
Pascal Querner
Insect Distribution in a Vacant Multi-Level Office Building
Insects
<i>Tineola bisselliella</i>
IPM
pheromone traps
Switzerland
spatial distribution
<i>Zygentoma</i>
title Insect Distribution in a Vacant Multi-Level Office Building
title_full Insect Distribution in a Vacant Multi-Level Office Building
title_fullStr Insect Distribution in a Vacant Multi-Level Office Building
title_full_unstemmed Insect Distribution in a Vacant Multi-Level Office Building
title_short Insect Distribution in a Vacant Multi-Level Office Building
title_sort insect distribution in a vacant multi level office building
topic <i>Tineola bisselliella</i>
IPM
pheromone traps
Switzerland
spatial distribution
<i>Zygentoma</i>
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/7/578
work_keys_str_mv AT peterbrimblecombe insectdistributioninavacantmultilevelofficebuilding
AT laurejeannottat insectdistributioninavacantmultilevelofficebuilding
AT pascalquerner insectdistributioninavacantmultilevelofficebuilding