Priyan, A. K., Seeman, O. D., Jose, J.

Journal of Natural Science Collections, Volume 10, Page 81 - 85

Natural history collections face threats of deterioration from various quarters especially arthropod pests. Identifying the breeding and hiding sites of such pests is imperative in maintaining museum collections. We report a serendipitous discovery of mites belonging to genus Suidasia from the eye of a recently dry-preserved moth during investigations with SEM. The discovery of a known pest of museum specimens hidden inside the insect highlights the extra care needed to preserve valuable natural history collections.

Keywords: Lepidoptera, SEM, Suidasia, dried specimens, mites

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