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Latin Name: Platypus sp.
Common Name: Platypodid Ambrosia Beetle
Latin Family Name: Platypodidae
Other Names: Pin-hole borers
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to North America, with only one genus in the family in the U.S.
Biology:
This is a beetle of minor importance to structural wood members, and it is only one of the beetles often called “ambrosia” beetles, a name derived from the fact that the larvae actually feed on ambrosia fungus that grows in the wood, having been introduced by the ovipositing female beetle. As the fungus grows and the larvae feed on it the tunnels in the wood are stained dark blue, black, or brown. These beetles, along with the other ambrosia beetles in the family Scolytidae, are destructive to living trees, but do not survive in structural wood members and will not re-infest. Their presence there is only due to the use of infested lumber.
Identification:
The adult beetles are about ¼ inch
Latin Name: Monochamus sp.
Common Name: Sawyers
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
There are 8 native species of these beetles in North America and the one introduced species from Japan, which is known from only a very few locations in the U.S.
Biology:
This is a group of 8 species in North America, and some of these may be seen commonly during summer days as they fly in open areas of woodlands. They feed on dead conifers and are important in the decomposition and recycling of these dead trees. One non-native species, the Japanese Pine Sawyer, is known to carry a nematode that causes pine wilt, so this one can cause damage to non-native pines. Otherwise the beetles are harmless to forest or landscape trees.
Identification:
Most of the species have adult beetles about ¾ to 1 inch long and with very long, narrow antennae, the antennae of the males often twice or more the length of the beetle. The color
Latin Name: Micromalthis debilis
Common Name: Telephone Pole Beetle
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
There is this single species of beetle in this family, and it is native to North America.
Biology:
The larvae of these tiny beetles feed within decaying wood, occasionally attacking pilings and other structural lumber that is in damp and poor condition. Their life cycle is quite unusual, with almost all of the individuals found in wood females, either in the larval stage, the adult beetle stage, or as an adult “larviform” female that never changes to the beetle appearance. These females may give birth to living larvae themselves.
Identification:
These are extremely tiny beetles, only about 1-2 mm long. They have soft wing covers that are elongate and with parallel sides, and are short, leaving the last few abdominal segments exposed from above. The prothorax is much narrower than the front of the wing covers and tapers
Latin Name: Lyctus spp.
Common Name: True Powderpost Beetles
Latin Family Name: Bostrichidae
Other Names: True powder-post beetle. A number of common species of Lyctus beetles occur in North America.
Pest Details
Origin:
Species of powder-post beetles occur in many countries throughout the world, easily being transported in infested wood products.
Biology:
It is believed that Lyctus species feed only on hardwoods and not softwoods such as the conifers. They feed primarily in the sapwood of the tree where the starch content is highest, and starch may be the principal food of the larvae. Adults do not feed. Bamboo and wicker products also are commonly attacked. Infested products within a structure may be re-infested for many generations of the beetles, eventually reducing the wood to little more than dust, and potentially moving into other susceptible wood products around them. In an outdoor environment
Latin Name: Prionus sp.
Common Name: Western Pine Beetle
Latin Family Name: Cerambycidae
Other Names: Western pine beetle, pine sawyer
Pest Details
Origin:
Native beetles in North America.
Biology:
These huge beetles attack primarily dead trees, and they are some of the first insects to enter a dead tree to begin the decomposition process. There are also reports of infestations in power poles, as well as the common occurrence of them in structural wood members, where their presence is due to infested lumber used in the construction. They will not re-infest structural wood members once they emerge as adults. Conifers are the woods infested, and the larval stage may easily take several years to complete, with up to 7 years possible. Once they emerge as the adult beetle they will bore through any material between them and the light they seek, including sheetrock, paneling, linoleum, or tile. Adults are attracted
Latin Name: Nacerdes melanura
Common Name: Wharf Borer
Latin Family Name: Oedemeridae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Introduced from Europe and now found uncommonly throughout much of North America, particularly along waterfront areas. The beetles prefer to invade extremely wet wood materials, as may be found along waterways.
Biology:
The wharf borer are not a pest problem in dry, sound wood, but is found in older buildings as well as wooden support beams and pilings under them, where they can cause extensive damage. Where buildings are constructed over older sites where wood is buried in the ground the beetles may be present, or buildings with wood foundations, wood basement walls, or concrete over wood slabs on the ground. The adult beetles emerge within a pupa chamber in the wood, mate immediately after emerging, and then move toward whatever light they detect, often coming up into buildings in large numbers. The
Latin Name: Euophryum sp.
Common Name: Wood-Boring Weevils
Latin Family Name: Curculionidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Probably native to the United States, but now found in many countries due to its transport in infested materials.
Biology:
Several species of weevils may be found in wood, normally feeding only on damp, decayed woods and not seasoned, dry woods. There may be 2 generations each year, with feeding in both softwoods and hardwoods, but because of their need for dampness and fungi in the wood they are not serious pests in most structural wood members. Both adults and larvae feed within the wood.
Identification:
As a weevil they are easily identified by the presence of an elongated “snout” in front of the head, with their jaws located at the end of the snout. The antennae arise from in front of the eyes on the snout, and they have a distinct elbow or bend on them. The adult beetle is only
Latin Name: Listronotus maculicollis
Common Name: Annual bluegrass weevil
Other Names: Turfgrass weevil, Hyperodes weevil (a previous genus name)
Pest Details
Origin:
This is a native insect in the northeastern United States, and now found in the southeastern Provinces of Canada.
Biology:
This beetle tends to feed only on short-cut annual bluegrass, and therefore is a serious pest on golf course turf. If the turf is kept at a height of 1.5 inches or higher the beetle is not a significant problem. Both adults and larvae feed on the grass blades, but only the larvae do serious damage, feeding within the stems of the grass initially but then dropping to the soil to feed on roots and crowns of the grass. Adult beetles overwinter in protected places adjacent to the turf, emerging in the spring to invade the turf and deposit eggs. Typically there will be 2 generations each year, but 3 generations are possible in warmer regions.
Identification:
Latin Name: Chrysobothris femorata
Common Name: Apple tree borer
Other Names: Flatheaded apple tree borer
Pest Details
Origin:
This is a native beetle in North America.
Biology:
Despite its common name apple trees are just one of dozens of different kinds of trees that this pest beetle infests. The list includes most fruit trees, hickory, oak, elm, chestnut, hawthorn, redbug, sycamore, maple, poplar and many others. It is found from Mexico to Canada and throughout the United States. Adult beetles are most common during late spring when the females may be observed sitting or running over the bark of trees. Each female deposits about 100 eggs into crevices and holes in the bark. The larvae then feed in the cambium and sapwood of the tree, effectively girdling the tree with heavy infestations, and potentially leading to the death of the tree. The larvae create a chamber in the sapwood and spend the winter in it, pupating in
Latin Name: Anoplophora glabripennis
Common Name: Asian longhorned beetle
Other Names: Sky beetle, Starry sky beetle
Pest Details
Origin:
This beetle is native to eastern Asia in the regions of China, Korea, and Japan. While it now is a resident species in New York, New Jersey, and upper Illinois it has been found, and hopefully eradicated, in CA, WA, TX, FL, and many other states east of the Mississippi River, as well as on the island of Hawaii. It has been found living in wood packing materials shipped from Asia.
Biology:
This destructive invader to North America was first discovered in 1996 in the United States, and has since spread throughout the northeast U.S. and into Canada, as well as to many countries in Europe. It feeds on and kills many kinds of hardwood trees, including maple, ash, birch, poplar, willow, elm, and many others. The life cycle takes from 1 to 2 years to complete, with overwintering done as either larva or