Birds' nests as a sòurce of domestic pests.

Abstract

SUMMARY. A number of stored product and domestic insect pests have been recorded from birds' nests. Nests of five species of house‐nesting birds were examined during the first three months of 1950. The composition of the nests is given. An extensive insect fauna was found, including, in particular, clothes moths, house moths and carpet beetles. The mite fauna included species found on stored products. The nature of the environment provided by a sparrow's nest is discussed. Three successive phases are recognizable, characterized respectively by (i) ectoparasites of birds, (ii) a fauna of stored products pests and their predators, and (iii) a humus fauna. The second phase is the one chiefly studied in this paper. While the complete fauna showed considerable variation from one nest to another, the dominant species formed a distinct group which was normally present in every nest. This group consisted of the moths, Tinaea columbariella and Hofmannophila pseudospretella , the beetle, Anthrenus verbasci , and the mites. Mealia pteronyssina. Glycyphagus domesticus and Acaropsis docta .