Tue, 01 Aug
|Church of St Mary the Virgin
Investigating the Infestation: Understanding and Communicating Deathwatch Beetle Activity on HMS Victory.
Cathryn Harvey gives an insight into the infestation of the deathwatch beetle threatening the conservation of the HMS Victory.
Time & Location
01 Aug 2023, 19:45 – 21:00
Church of St Mary the Virgin, Church Lane, Sedgeford, Hunstanton PE36 5NA, UK
About the event
Little is known about the deathwatch beetle despite being a pest that impacts historic timbers. HMS Victory has been dealing with an infestation of deathwatch beetles first recorded in 1932. The cryptid nature of the beetle and ship’s size has meant that past insecticide campaigns have had little impact. Replacing infested timbers has been done previously, but the current conservation strategy is one of preservation, albeit in a very challenging environment. A major conservation programme is now in progress to stabilize and protect the ship for the next fifty years. This project contributes to the early stages of this conservation programme and provide information on the habits and behaviours of the beetle and how the infestation can be assessed non-invasively. It also aims actively to develop a means of communicating conservation findings to the public.
Entry to our Tuesday night lectures costs £3 on the door. Doors open at 7:15pm.