Early this month, museum collections staff found a few carpet beetle larvae casings while checking crates for pests as installers were unpacking a travelling cast dinosaur exhibition from Australia.
The paid-entry show, "Dinosaur Eggs and Babies", went on display at the museum's special exhibition gallery on Saturday and runs until May 2.
Museum chief executive Shimrath Paul reported on the December 3 incident at yesterday's Otago Museum Trust Board meeting.
Mr Paul praised the prompt actions of the museum staff involved.
He noted the display area had been extensively fumigated and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry officials had fully supported the actions taken by staff.
In a written report, museum acting director of collections and research Clare Wilson said bait traps were laid after the larvae casings were found.
The casings could indicate live adult beetles might have emerged.
In their larval stage, the tiny beetles, also known as "museum bugs", can have a damaging effect on museum collections.
In the biggest crate, containing a huge model tarbosaur, staff found many live carpet beetles in both larval and adult stages, as well as empty casings.
Other live beetles, both carpet beetles and borer, and live spiders, were found in other crates and packing materials.
Ms Wilson said the dinosaur exhibition had been to several Australian museums and had been fumigated before leaving Australia, but none of the pests had previously been detected.
Otago Museum inquiries showed the fumigation before leaving Australia been undertaken when the crates had been closed, killing everything outside the crates but nothing within.
No live pests had been found after the fumigation of the special exhibition gallery and a nearby upstairs lecture theatre.
Ms Wilson praised the actions of Cody Fraser, the museum collection co-ordinator, natural science, and other museum staff for their thorough and fast response to the incident.
Maf staff had said the museum had done everything by the book and were happy with its decisions.
Two further fumigations would be undertaken, at six-weekly intervals, and the exhibition crates would again be fumigated before the show left New Zealand, Ms Wilson said.
