{"id":8334,"date":"2017-11-03T12:53:26","date_gmt":"2017-11-03T12:53:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.museums.cam.ac.uk\/blog\/?p=8334"},"modified":"2020-09-04T15:43:05","modified_gmt":"2020-09-04T14:43:05","slug":"a-conversation-with-a-vodka-beetle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.museums.cam.ac.uk\/blog\/2017\/11\/03\/a-conversation-with-a-vodka-beetle\/","title":{"rendered":"A conversation with… a vodka beetle"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is Part 3 of our series on pests that eat museum collections.\u00a0We often find the odd vodka beetle larva on our pest traps, but we\u2019ve noticed a few more adult vodka beetles around the Fitzwilliam Museum<\/a> this year.<\/h2>\n

Conversation with… a vodka beetle<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Adult vodka beetle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Drink?<\/h3>\n

No, thanks.<\/p>\n

You have an interesting name…<\/h3>\n

I’m actually a brown carpet beetle.\u00a0 My full name is Attengenus smirnovi.<\/em><\/p>\n

Smirnovi?\u00a0 As in…<\/h3>\n

Like the vodka, yes.\u00a0 When I was found in a UK museum in the 1990s, staff gave me the nickname vodka beetle, and it has just stuck. I was actually discovered in the 1960s by the Russian Entomologist E.S. Smirnov, and then named after him.<\/p>\n

So I don’t need to worry about my drink?<\/h3>\n

I prefer things like textiles, wool, fur.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Vodka beetle larva<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Any hobbies?<\/h3>\n

I try to stay active.\u00a0 I am quite a good flier, especially when it’s warm.<\/p>\n

Outdoors or indoors?<\/h3>\n

Both really.\u00a0 I hang out happily in birds’ nests, but it’s a bit cold in the UK to do that.\u00a0 I’m quite content in the dusty corners inside.\u00a0 Admittedly, once I’m inside, it’s hard to get rid of me.<\/p>\n

What do you think of the Cambridge Museums?<\/h3>\n

Until relatively recently, you could only find me in London museums, but now that I’ve found Cambridge as well, you aren’t going to get rid of me any time soon.<\/p>\n

Catch up on Helena’s earlier interviews with a woolly bear<\/a> and a silverfish<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is Part 3 of our series on pests that eat museum collections.\u00a0We often find the odd vodka beetle larva on our pest traps, but we\u2019ve 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.\u00a0 My full… Read full article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":8344,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[369,156],"tags":[225,218],"coauthors":[231],"class_list":["post-8334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-museum-life","category-the-fitzwilliam-museum","tag-collections-care","tag-cultural-value"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t