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20 Jun 05 - 07:25 PM (#1505538) Subject: BS: Confusion in the closet, in or out...... From: Shanghaiceltic Now I know why my performing clothes get moth eaten, all that engrained sweat;-) Must get a new tutu. Seems that mothballs are no longer needed and with confused moths who would need balls anyway...... And would GWB and TB call this a weapon of moth destruction??? Moths foiled by sexual confusion at the opera By Charles Clover, Environment Editor (Filed: 20/06/2005) A technique that confuses clothes moths about their sexuality has made a dramatic difference to the storage of ballet and opera costumes at Covent Garden. Rather than killing the moths, the new technique prevents the moths from breeding, thereby stopping damage done by the moths' larval stage. Damage by moths was costing the Royal Opera House tens of thousands of pounds a year in repairs The traps installed for the Royal Opera House make male clothes moths appear to other males as females, by sticking female pheromones to their bodies. In a plot that could have come from an opera, males attempt to mate with the false females, but do not succeed. Until the new pheromone traps were pioneered by Exosect, a company with close links to Southampton University, moths were costing the Royal Opera House tens of thousands of pounds a year. The worst affected are ballet dancers' costumes, which get engrained with sweat, clothes moths' favourite taste. The Royal Opera House has around 2,000 costumes at Covent Garden at any one time, some of which are more than a century old. The pheromone traps work by stopping the moths laying eggs Its archive includes the red dress Maria Callas wore in Tosca and costumes made for a stage band in a 1902 production of La Boheme. Up to 750,000 more costumes are in permanent storage in South Wales. "If you put something away for five to 10 years, it can come out with not a lot left," said Corrinne Jones-Lord, head of costumes and wigs. Mending moth damage is one of the reasons why the Royal Opera House employs 13 full-time seamstresses. Covent Garden's new centrally heated and air conditioned extension made the problem worse because it was a more welcoming environment to the moth. Mrs Jones-Lord said the pheromone traps were the best system because they worked by stopping the moths laying eggs. But the problem has not gone away because eggs can lie dormant for two years before hatching. Once installed, the system costs the Opera House about £10,000 a year, a relative bargain, given that this is the price of half a dozen specially-designed costumes. The Exosect CLM technique, known as auto-confusion, has been developed to tackle codling moths and other pests of apple and pear orchards, but has yet to be developed into a treatment for moths in the home. |
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20 Jun 05 - 07:28 PM (#1505543) Subject: RE: BS: Confusion in the closet, in or out...... From: gnu How do you make a pheromone? |
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20 Jun 05 - 07:30 PM (#1505547) Subject: RE: BS: Confusion in the closet, in or out...... From: heric Didn't we see a thread about the military experimenting with this same weapon? So that the enemy trenches would all make love, not war? I'm sure we did, but it was only in the experimental stages. |
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20 Jun 05 - 07:32 PM (#1505548) Subject: RE: BS: Confusion in the closet, in or out...... From: Leadfingers I Know how to make a Hormone !!! |
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20 Jun 05 - 07:32 PM (#1505549) Subject: RE: BS: Confusion in the closet, in or out...... From: Troll SEE? Proof positive (as if we neded more) that it's all for the La Dee Da and the regular folk can go whistle. They can de-moth the ruddy Opera House (probably at public expense) but me Mums old wool coat can take its chances in the closet. It's the syme the ol' world over It's the poor wot gets the blyme.... troll |
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20 Jun 05 - 07:57 PM (#1505562) Subject: RE: BS: Confusion in the closet, in or out...... From: GUEST Put sand in the vaseline, Leadfingers? :) |
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20 Jun 05 - 09:13 PM (#1505584) Subject: RE: BS: Confusion in the closet, in or out...... From: frogprince No, guest, Leadfingers said MOAN, not SCREAM... |
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20 Jun 05 - 09:57 PM (#1505604) Subject: RE: BS: Confusion in the closet, in or out...... From: Jeri How to make a pheromone? Tell a bad joke? "That's no lady, that's my sister...no wait, my wife. Hang on,it's my sister...oh bugger." A long time ago, in Egypt land Before biochemistry was known They say Moses did the Red Sea part And he made a Pharoh moan... |
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20 Jun 05 - 11:33 PM (#1505655) Subject: RE: BS: Confusion in the closet, in or out...... From: GUEST Hormone? Don't pay'er. |
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21 Jun 05 - 01:36 AM (#1505708) Subject: RE: BS: Confusion in the closet, in or out...... From: dianavan Well I hope the Chinese learn about this. I am sick of smelling mothballs all day long. What is it with the mothballs anyway? I'm afraid these young children are being exposed to very toxic chemicals. |
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21 Jun 05 - 03:08 AM (#1505733) Subject: RE: BS: Confusion in the closet, in or out...... From: Liz the Squeak We could go back to the really old fashioned way.... hang clothes up in the garderobe (clue in the name....) otherwise known as Duke Norman's Patented LongDrop Khazi... usually found in the outside wall of a castle, although Bayeux still has a splendid timber example just to the left of the water wheel on the mill. So.. you got three options... be motheaten, smell of mothballs or smell of shit... And just for the record.... I've seen moth balls, I've seen moths... HOW the hell do they manage to fly? LTS |
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21 Jun 05 - 05:50 AM (#1505824) Subject: RE: BS: Confusion in the closet, in or out...... From: gnu But you haven't seen THE moths. |
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21 Jun 05 - 08:37 AM (#1505907) Subject: RE: BS: Confusion in the closet, in or out...... From: GUEST,Mrr This is a riot! What a great idea, too! |
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21 Jun 05 - 10:36 AM (#1505999) Subject: RE: BS: Confusion in the closet, in or out...... From: Susu's Hubby Do what the people do in the Appalachian hills. Put a bug zapper in your closet. That way, you can have entertainment indoors as well! ;-) Hubby |
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21 Jun 05 - 10:49 AM (#1506009) Subject: RE: BS: Confusion in the closet, in or out...... From: Sorcha Uh, why can't they just launder the clothes??? Would YOU want to put on a tutu that was engrained with sweat???? |