Webbing clothes moth, Tineola bisselliella (Hummel) sex pheromone transfer from monitoring lures to textiles

The use of synthesized sex pheromone lures for the purpose of monitoring populations of webbing clothes moth, Tineola bisselliella (Hummel) in museum storage environments is typical in many museums. Questions about whether the pheromone incorporated in the dispensing lures could possibly transfer over to textiles that are in close proximity to the lures have been posed by museum conservators. Although some textiles may be naturally attractive to clothes moths, the concerns are that the textiles themselves may become even more attractive to insects due to exposure to the pheromone and that this could ultimately cause further damage to the collections. The focus of this study was to determine the degree to which textiles that have been exposed to pheromone lures absorb the pheromone and become attractive themselves. Based on the results of this study, the textiles observed here have little to no additional attraction to insect pests after focused exposure to synthetic pheromone lures over a two-week period.