IPM Working Group Meeting 2019 PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT

Hosted by Insects Limited and the Indianapolis Museum of Art

March 13 – 15, 2019

Insects Limited has been a long-time supporter of the IPM Working Group (IPM-WG) and we are excited to bring our 2019 program to the mid-west with meetings at the Insects Limited offices as well as the Indianapolis Museum of Art (Newfields).

The IPM-WG meetings are designed to help institutions with active IPM programs by bringing individuals together to tackle projects related to pest-related challenges. All information resulting from these collaborations are placed on the MuseumPests.net website for the benefit of the cultural heritage community. We also welcome conservators and pest management professionals providing pest remediation services as well as entomologists, facility managers and others interested in collaborating on our projects.

The program is scheduled for 2.5 days, beginning the afternoon of March 13th, with a half day of tours and talks by the staff of Insects Limited at their offices and labs. This is an opportunity to dive into the subjects of museum pest research, monitoring and pheromones! The program will be complemented by presentations from participants on projects and new developments in their home institutions. This pre-session will replace the short presentations previously offered during our meeting, allowing us more time to work collaboratively over the subsequent days.

On March 14-15 we will revert to the traditional IPM-WGschedule focusing on further development of the online content for the MuseumPests.net website. We will be hosted by the Conservation Science department of the Indianapolis Museum of Art and we will have the opportunity for behind the scenes tours of their labs and facilities, as well as an IPM related tours of art storage areas and the historic Lilly House on the Newfields campus.

There is no fee for attending the program; however, participants are responsible for their own travel, room, and board. Additionally, participants are expected to take on an assignment that will result in content for the MuseumPests.net website. The two-and-a-half-day program is by invitation only as space is limited.

To request a spot please RSVP by e-mailing: chair@museumpests.net including: “IPM-WG 2019 Meeting” in the subject line. Your request must include:

  • Name
  • Address (Company/institution)
  • Phone #
  • E-mail

RSVP’s will be accepted through March 1st, 2019 or until spots are filled. Priority will be given to returning participants on a first-come, first-served basis and to new participants who are actively involved in an IPM program in their institution.

Please note: The IPM-WG meetings do not teach IPM andare only appropriate for individuals working with an active IPM program. A two-day workshop teaching the basics of IPM for museums, libraries and historic homes will be offered at Insects Limited’s facility prior to the meeting. Please look for more information on the MuseumPests.net homepage and blog in early 2019.

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IPMWG 2018, update from the UK Liaison

Dear fellow IPM nerds, geniuses & friends,

I would like to remind you all that the UK equivalent to the IPMWG meeting:  the Odyssey Group’s meeting, will take place this year at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History on July 4th. Should  you wish to attend, please feel free to drop me an email. There is no fee for registration but it is a first-come, first-serve basis and places are limited.

If you are yet to read David Pinniger’s great IPM book, published by Archetype in 2015, here is a good review by our man in Vienna; Pascal Querner; to open your appetite. David will be presenting his latest publication with Dee Lauder on IPM at English Heritage in  the Spring this year, watch this space!

A new species of Silverfish has been found in the UK Museums in 2017, the Grey Silverfish, Ctenolepisma longicaudata, was found at the Museum of London, as first reported by Conservator Abby Moore in ICON news, and have since been found at the Natural History Museum, London (just by the IPM Rep for Entomology Department’s desk, somehow helpfully).  The implications of this finding should be considered serious as the species is already spreading rapidly in Europe and has also been found to survive and cause damage at ambient relative humidity (40-60%RH).

I would also like to leave here a reminder that the 4th International IPM  Conference will take place in Stockholm, Sweden, on 21-23 May 2019. The call for papers is out and the deadline for abstracts submission is upon us but you still have time until 15 April 2018! I hope to see very many of you there, is going to be a fantastic conference.

If you are interested in Natural History collections, the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) will meet in Dunedin, New Zealand, 25 August to 8 September this year. Their conservation committee would welcome new members with an IPM background or interest; if you can’t travel to New Zealand, fear not, they will be back in the US in 2019 in Chicago.

2021 will be 10 years since the last Pest Odyssey conference… (opening of Richard Strauss’ Thus Spoke Zarathustra).

I’m writing this post as we wrap up this year’s meeting on a sunny and cold Friday 16th March and I am already feeling slightly melancholic that our time in snow covered and picturesque Harvard has gone so fast; but also happy that I have had a change to see old friends and meet new ones and work and learn alongside you all. Since we seem to have a knack on predicting mastondontica (that’s mammoth in Spanish, I thought you might like it) snow storms, I’m putting my money on a good one hitting Indiana next year! Prepare those snow boots Señor Kelley!

Thank you Rachael, Matt, Pat and thank you to the fantastic and welcoming local committee; Genevieve, Morgan & Jon  for such a great meeting!

Armando Mendez

a.mendez@nhm.ac.uk

Natural History Museum, London, UK

On Her Majesty’s IPM Service

 

 

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