Wood borer infestation

Katja Telp <katjatelp [at] sbcglobal__net> writes

>A polychrome wooden sculpture I am restoring has some alarming wood
>borer infestation, and it is nothing I have ever seen before. The
>exit holes are enormous, about an inch long and oval. The undigested
>wood shavings from the holes are 3/4 inches long.

Response from Brian Ridout in the UK

   "The holes would either be made by a longhorn beetle
    (Cerambycidae) or a Jewel beetle (Buprestidae).  The presence of
    'shavings' in the oval holes suggests the latter.  Beetle larvae
    from either family can live for many years in wood and I have
    known them emerge from exhibits that have been in museum
    collections for at least a decade. The literature suggests that
    fifty years is not uncommon. Dry wood is not a problem for a
    well-grown larva--they will not re-infest.  The beetle would
    certainly have laid its eggs before the sculpture came to
    California in 2006.  Where did it come from?  If from Mexico
    then there would be many possibilities."

    Bryan Blundell
    jbb [at] prginc__com


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 21:1
                 Distributed: Saturday, April 28, 2007
                        Message Id: cdl-21-1-007
                                  ***