Page 24 - Mothmageddon

“What’s Eating You 2?” Mothmageddon
Clothes moths force closure of Government pest control department
In May, 2011, the Westminster HQ of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) had to close so its offices could be fumigated after employees complained about the infestation of the clothes moth.7
While some unnamed civil servants joked that it was surprising after all the Defra plans that had been ‘mothballed’, others blamed colleagues who stored their cycling clothes under desks which then created a perfect breeding ground for moths.
The moth problem had become apparent when staff noticed insects flying out of air vents and around desks, meeting rooms and corridors. The building was fumigated a month later but the problem returned.
Clothes Moths Invade Stately Homes and Museums
Museums, theatres and stately houses are continuously waging battles against the cloth-eating moths. Unfortunately, it’s a battle they don’t always win: take the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford for instance. Founded in 1677 and considered by some to be the first modern public museum, the Ashmolean once held the stuffed body of the last Dodo bird in Europe. By 1755, however, moths had done their worst on the poor Dodo’s body. It was so moth-eaten that only the head and a single claw remained.
Dodo, reconstructie naar een reconstructie in Londen door G.A.L. Bisseling (see page 79 for full credit)
7 ‘The moth-eaten Ministry: Government department in charge of pest control is closed after insect infestation’, Elliot, Valerie, Daily Mail, www.dailymail.co.uk, May 28, 2011
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