If you are a bit squeamish, it might be better not to read any further.
Recently, a client came to the shop, with what we term a loft violin, still in its original coffin case. A violin, which has been stored in a loft (the roof space under the slates), for many years.
Usually, these are trade violins, in a considerable state of disrepair. Years of getting baked in summer, and frozen in winter, really can cause a lot of problems, affecting the glued joints, and sometimes the varnish too.
It’s not unusual, on opening the case of an instrument that has been stored long term, to find that the bow hair appears to be snapped or cut, often into dozens of small sections.
Most string players will have heard of bow bugs, even if they have not suffered from them personally.
Bow bugs are actually the larvae of carpet beetles (Anthrenus Verbasci).
The adult beetles, which are able to fly, resemble in some ways a small ladybird, although the colours are different. The beetles can lay 50-100 eggs each, usually in undisturbed places.
The larvae feed on natural fibres, such as the felt linings of old cases, and keratin within the horse hair. I have also seen instances where tortoiseshell frogs, along with whalebone lapping, had suffered some damage too.
They do not eat wooden parts of the bows, or instruments.
The Larvae do not like the light, or being disturbed, and this is why bows which are in regular use are never affected.
On opening this case, and removing the instrument, I was faced with one of the largest quantities of moulted pupae skins I have seen for years. Generations must have been living in this case for decades, having a good feed of anything they could find. There were also a lot of tiny whitish specs visible, perhaps these are eggs, but I cannot be sure.
Having the bow re-haired solves the problem for the bow, but the case is a different matter. There are a lot of crevices in a case, for things to hide, and it is impossible to be sure everything has successfully been removed.
In lieu of a better solution, I usually advise hoovering out the case multiple times, and using an insecticide spray. Close the case after using the spray and leave it a few days, then hoover again. Leaving the open case in a brightly lit area for an extended period of time seems to help too.
If the case lining has suffered a lot from being eaten, it may be better to replace the case entirely.
If the instruments and bows are returned to regular use, this could be the end of the problem, but if stored again, it’s quite probable the circumstances which caused the infestation in the first place, will happen again.
I personally don’t trust a case which I know has had larvae in, with a newly re-haired bow that isn’t used often.
While the lining of the case, was a nice festive red colour, I’m really hoping that Santa’s jacket is in better condition, with fewer holes in it.
Categories: Miscellaneous
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