A conversation with… a vodka beetle
This is Part 3 of our series on pests that eat museum collections. We often find the odd vodka beetle larva on our pest traps, but we’ve noticed a few more adult vodka beetles around the Fitzwilliam Museum this year. Conversation with… a vodka beetle Drink? No, thanks. You have an interesting name… I’m actually a brown carpet beetle. My full…
Why it’s good for insect enthusiasts to meet up at least once a year
I took over as Curator of Insects in the Museum of Zoology less than a year ago, so there is still a lot I need to learn when it comes to managing the Museum of Zoology’s collection of over a million insect specimens. My colleague, Russell Stebbings, and I therefore jumped at the opportunity of meeting other insect collection managers from…
Is it or isn’t it?: authenticating a souvenir from Scott’s last journey
Being asked to authenticate an artefact is like being given a mystery to solve. You have to piece together lots of different clues from the way it is made, where it comes from, what has been written about it and how it has been used to work out whether it is what it claims to be. The process can be…
