Paleoworld-101 Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Not sure which category this discussion fits into so if any mod or admin wants to move it elsewhere feel free. For quite a while now i've been noticing lots of tiny little bugs crawling on my fossils, around the inside of my cabinets and on the information cards (generally just anywhere around or on my fossils). They are tiny, about 1-2mm long. I can't photograph them very well myself due to their small size but they look like the booklouse in the image below which is what i am assuming them to be. I see them all the time, usually crawling on the fossils themselves. If i pick up a large specimen there's a good chance there is one of these bugs on it. Does anyone else have the same problem with the fossils in their collection? Are they harmless to the specimens? My cabinets are a bit dusty but dry and mold free. Why would they be crawling around on the fossils themselves and what are they eating? "In Africa, one can't help becoming caught up in the spine-chilling excitement of the hunt. Perhaps, it has something to do with a memory of a time gone by, when we were the prey, and our nights were filled with darkness..." -Eternal Enemies: Lions And Hyenas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Well this is one of hte weirder posts! Dunno. Maybe they are just passing by. Where does the trail lead? Are they an ant? look to be. "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 They eat glue like rhw kind in book bindings and mold. They like humid conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raptor Lover Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Well this is one of hte weirder posts! Agreed! "Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you" Job 12:8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesuslover340 Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Going off of what Fossil Claw said... Do any of your fossils have glue on them to keep them stable/together? Might put out a couple sticky spider traps near the fossils to see if you can get rid of them, or maybe consider dessicants (if they don't risk your fossils...I don't THINK they would, though) to make conditions less likeable for them? "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another."-Romans 14:19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleoworld-101 Posted February 14, 2016 Author Share Posted February 14, 2016 Well this is one of hte weirder posts! Dunno. Maybe they are just passing by. Where does the trail lead? Are they an ant? look to be. Yeah kinda random haha. They don't hang around each other or follow any kind of social trail, and are not ants. Considering how abundant they are around my collection i would have thought this to be a common occurrence. They eat glue like rhw kind in book bindings and mold. They like humid conditions. Hmmmm that's strange because i wouldn't really say my collection has either. Definitely no glue on the vast majority of my fossils yet they still like to walk around on them. I see them all the time around my fossils but not really anywhere else in my room so i'm stumped. Going off of what Fossil Claw said... Do any of your fossils have glue on them to keep them stable/together? Might put out a couple sticky spider traps near the fossils to see if you can get rid of them, or maybe consider dessicants (if they don't risk your fossils...I don't THINK they would, though) to make conditions less likeable for them? They crawl on my found stuff that i've done nothing to so no idea what they could be eating there. I only just put new specimens in a week or so ago, on the higher shelves, and already there's bugs on them lol. I'll definitely look into pest management options that don't harm the fossils, maybe a little bit of surface spray around the outside of the cabinets to stop more getting in and silica balls to dry things up inside as you said, even though things seem pretty dry anyway. This has been going on for years and i'm finally sick of it. I just hope that their presence hasn't over time discoloured the fossils (from their droppings perhaps, even though i haven't seen any). "In Africa, one can't help becoming caught up in the spine-chilling excitement of the hunt. Perhaps, it has something to do with a memory of a time gone by, when we were the prey, and our nights were filled with darkness..." -Eternal Enemies: Lions And Hyenas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 (edited) http://mobile.dudamobile.com/site/asktheexterminator1?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.asktheexterminator.com%2FLice%2FBooklice.shtml&utm_referrer=#2739 Maybe microscopic mold on the fossils? Edited February 14, 2016 by Fossil Claw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Those are preparator bugs. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Those are preparator bugs. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izak_ Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Interesting..... :/ I agree with Ash, not something you see everyday. Nice pic btw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manticocerasman Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 those are Booklice: http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/booklice they seem pretty harmless to me for your collection. 6 growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 (edited) Wow Kev, you nailed it! From reading what that article says - they're little helpers, eating molds. I'd leave them be Must be some tiny, tiny mold you can't see, Paleo. Edited February 14, 2016 by Ash "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Yes, I see them too. So tiny you may not notice them until you have a specimen under the microscope or hand lens. Then when they go rushing through the field of vision they are a bit startling. I haven't noticed any harm to my collection or myself. I also really only see them on my larger slabs or matrix pieces. I knew them from Ohio and New York and here they are again in Texas. I leave them alone generally since they must have a place in the scheme of things. Silver fish have been the bane of my collection. Eating up labels and some of my library. And they get BIG here in Texas. Sometimes when I am unpacking recently collected material those bright red rock mites are still moving about. But they don't seem to survive being indoors. Poisons, repellents, glue, etc. are all things I try to avoid since it's the stuff you can't see that kills you in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sacha Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Yes, I see them too. So tiny you may not notice them until you have a specimen under the microscope or hand lens. Then when they go rushing through the field of vision they are a bit startling. I haven't noticed any harm to my collection or myself. I also really only see them on my larger slabs or matrix pieces. I knew them from Ohio and New York and here they are again in Texas. I leave them alone generally since they must have a place in the scheme of things. Silver fish have been the bane of my collection. Eating up labels and some of my library. And they get BIG here in Texas. Sometimes when I am unpacking recently collected material those bright red rock mites are still moving about. But they don't seem to survive being indoors. Poisons, repellents, glue, etc. are all things I try to avoid since it's the stuff you can't see that kills you in the end. There are silverfish baits that are basically just pieces of cardboard soaked in borax and dried. Stick a couple in out of the way recesses in any areas you see the silverfish. They eat the cardboard and that's it. About as low impact on the environment as you can get. I get them from my bugman, but I'm sure they're available on line or at Walmart. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediospirifer Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Booklice, huh? I've seen a few of them on plates of dry matrix under the microscope. It is rather startling to be looking at rock dust for microfossils and see something crawling! I've left them alone. They don't bug me, I find them interesting. On the other hand, an effective anti-insect chemical is permethrin. I've been told that spraying your clothing once a week or so will keep deer ticks, mosquitos, and other parasitic arthropods away--walking across the treated fabric kills them. I haven't tried it myself, but it I get nipped too many times this summer I might! If the booklice are eating microscopic molds, I'd leave them be, but an application of permethrin to bits of paper might reduce the silverfish population. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 I was going through some crab concretions not too long ago and notice these real tiny red spider mites falliing off the concs and onto my prep bench. Weird! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrewer Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 In my opinion you should get a pest control company in. While they won’t eat your fossils they eat starch (in humid conditions) Starch can be foodstuffs, wallpaper paste and books hence the name. Books, particularly old books, use starch to adhere the cover to the board in hardback books. I have 100’s of books and booklice would really worry me. If your fossils are in an old wooden cabinet it may well have been glued with something they might enjoy dining on. At least get a de-humidifier. 2 John Map of UK fossil sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMP Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 This is an old thread, but I'll chime in for the good of other users. Most of my collection (upwards of 90%) is self collected, and the vast majority of that come from roadside outcrops where you can find critters from all across the animal kingdom. Usually what ends up happening is when you go to collect rocks/fossils from outside, a couple of bugs end up getting trapped one way or the other and end up coming home with you. I don't know if this is your case, but for the most part I haven't noticed any damage whatsoever to my fossils. On the contrary, many of these insects tend to feed upon mold and other nasty things that could be residing on your fossils (and also could be harmful to your health) so I usually don't do much of anything about them. The only things that bother me are spiders...and I have had some bad experiences with those (there was one time a ""little"" guy had crawled into my shoes while I was distracted by my collecting. Imagine my horror when I took them off). If they really bother you then I'd suggest just getting a de-humidifier as others have suggested and place some sticky traps down. Of course, leaving that spider you keep seeing in the corner alone will also help to keep the bug numbers low. Oh, and if you have lights on, many bugs are attracted to the heat/light of the bulbs, especially once it starts getting colder and darker out, so limiting the times you keep them on could also help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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