A data base devoted to the
Insects of the Cultural Heritage
Fabien FOHRER : Centre Interrégional de Conservation et de Restauration du Patrimoine (C.I.C.R.P.), Marseille – FRANCE
Michel MARTINEZ and Franck DORKELD: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Centre de Biologie
pour la Gestion des Populations (CBGP), Montpellier – FRANCE
The Interregional Center of Conservation and Restoration of cultural Heritage of Marseille (CICRP) and the National Institute of
the Agronomic research (INRA) , of Montpellier in collaboration with the National Center of DNA sequence ( GENOSCOPE ) of Evry,
realizeda database devoted to the" Insects of the Cultural Heritage ".
The database inventories and describes the dangerous insects present in heritage places constituting a risk for the
conservation of the cultural property : museum collections, libraries and archives and historic buildings.
The database is a tool allowing survey and identification of the insects present in these places, these data are essential for
preventive and curative measures to undertake in case of infestation.
It is dedicated to any professional in charge of cultural heritage conservation and to any other professional and scientist concerned
or interested by these questions. its contents, its ergonomics and its presentation makes the database accessible to any public.
For each species several entries are proposed such as the common names and the scientific names (1), the infested materials (2),
the molecular sequence (3), the keys of identification (dichotomic and visual) (4)... These entries are related to a descriptive form
for each species (see Internet site : www.ensam.inra.fr/cbgp/insectes-du-patrimoine ).
2
Scientific names :
1
Anobium punctatum (De Geer, 1774)
CELLULOSE : wood, paper…
Synonyms : Anobium striatum Olivier, 1790
Birrhus domesticus Geoffroy in
Fourcroy, 1785
Common names :
French usual names : Petite Vrillette, Vrillette
commune, Vrillette domestique, Cosson, Vers du
bois, Vers des meubles.
English usual name :
Common furniture beetle
German usual name :
Gemeine nagekäfer
Spanish usual name :
Carcoma comun de los
STARCH : adhesive paste, seeds
and grains…
Search an
insect by :
KERATINE : wool, silk, hair,fur,
nails, bone …
COLLAGENE : leather, parchment,
skin…
CHITIN : insects collection
muebles
4
MOULDY AND DAMP OBJECT :
AUXILIARY INSECTS :
parasites, predator
Simplified keys of identification, based on
the external morphological characters.
3
Example of a start key of Dermestidae family.
Size less
than 6 mm
Body
covered
with hair
Size 6 to
12 mm
Infested materials :
Antennae
without a
club, long
legs and thin
Thylodrias
contractus
Antennae with
club, short legs
The entry of a sequence ADN via
a search engine.
Sequencing techniques allow us to offer tools
based on extracted DNA from individual
reference
This page is dedicated for biologists interested in
molecular species identification and desirous to
identify a species from its DNA
OR
Body covered
with scales
Suture of elytra uniformly red
Anthrenus scrophulariae
Suture of elytra
of several colors
In addition to general texts based on the nomenclature, the classification and the presentation of the orders and the families, the
database gives information about the survey, the biology, the frequency and the distribution of each species mentioned.
The glossary contents the entomological and technical vocabulary used in the base, in order to allow a better comprehension
of the texts and descriptions, whatever the level of the technical or scientist training of the consultant.
Corresponding Authors : fabien.fohrer@cicrp.fr ; martinez@supagro.inra.fr