370 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19 39 



Coteau, La. This infestation undoubtedly owes its origin to infested 

 books taken there from Havana many years ago. 



It is said that there is no finer collection of books and manuscripts 

 dealing with Jewish literature and history than that in the library 

 of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Many of 

 the ancient volumes have come to this country from those portions 

 of Europe known to be overrun with bookworms. When these books 

 were moved to the new and very beautiful and modern seminary 

 library building in 1933, many were found to be carrying active in- 

 festations which had their origin across the Atlantic. A sojourn in 

 this country had in no way impaired their capacity for injury. 



While engaged in investigational work in Honolulu, the writer made 

 the acquaintance of the late Dr. William T. Brigham, for many years 

 director of the Bemice Pauahi Bishop Museum, and was shown his 

 valuable collection of books in which he took great pride. After Dr. 

 Brigham's death, these books were boxed and stored in Honolulu for 

 several years until, in 1927, they were sold to a firm of book sellers in 

 Boston. Upon arrival in Boston, hardly a book of the estimated 8,000 

 volumes, valued at over $25,000, was found free from the ravages of 

 Catorama bookworms. One damaged book is shown natural size in 

 plate 4. It is hard to believe how quickly bookworms can ruin books 

 in certain warm and humid climates and how easily they can be shipped 

 to distant lands. A shipment of books, similarly infested and injured, 

 was received late in 1939 by the Congressional Library from Kio de 

 Janeiro, Brazil. 



Not all insects that infest books are true bookworms. Book insects 

 may be divided into three groups: (1) the true bookworms, (2) 

 termites, and (3) surface feeders. 



The true bookworms are all tiny creatures (pis. 4, 5). In no stage 

 of their life do they exceed, usually, one-tenth or one-eighth of an 

 inch in length. The adults, almost never seen without a close search, 

 are brownish or blackish beetles. The adult beetles are inconspicuous 

 and are seldom active in the bright light of midday. They possess cer- 

 tain adornments which make it possible to distinguish the species, once 

 the beetles are captured and placed beneath the microscope. In like 

 manner, the white grubs (pis. 4, 5, 12) or immature forms look alike 

 to the average person. Wlien disturbed by the turning of the pages 

 through which they have been building their tunnels, they curl into 

 tight balls and roll out of the book, or roll just enough from their 

 tunnels to be crushed when the book is closed. The grubs hatch from 

 eggs laid by the parent beetles and at once begin burrowing into the 

 covers, seemingly preferring covers in which there is considerable 

 glue, paste, or casein. They frequently center their attack along the 

 backs or hinges of the book covers, cutting the threads which bind the 



