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Beetles (Wood-Boring)
Latin Name: Xylosandrus sp.
Common Name: Ambrosia Beetles
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
This is a native of Asia.
Biology:
There are 4 species of ambrosia beetles in this genus in North America, 3 of which are foreign invaders from Asia. These exotic species, in particular, may attack and damage healthy trees, and the species X. crassiusculus is now found commonly from North Carolina south and west to Florida and Texas. It also has been found in Oregon, Virginia, and Indiana. It appears capable of infesting most kinds of trees and shrubs other than conifers. Typical of “ambrosia” beetles the females bore through the bark of smaller trees or shrubs and into the wood to create a system of galleries, in which they then introduce a fungus which they actually cultivate, and the emerging larvae then feed on this fungus. Within any gallery there may be eggs, larvae, and pupae, all of which are tended by the female beetle. Males
Latin Name: Euvrilletta peltata
Common Name: Anobiid Powderpost Beetle
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
This is a native insect in the Southeast U.S.
Biology:
This beetle may be locally common in the southeast U.S. from Texas to Florida, and is often a serious pest in crawl space timbers. It will infest both seasoned and unseasoned lumber. Adults emerge in the spring, mate, and die within a few weeks after this. Females lay around 50 eggs, 3 or 4 at a time, into pores, cracks, or holes in the wood, and these beetles will commonly re-infest the same wood they emerged from.
Identification:
Adult beetles may be nearly 1/4 inch long and are solid brown to reddish brown. The upper body is covered with a short pubescence of yellowish hairs. As with other Anobiid beetles the head projects from below the prothorax, hiding it from view from above.
Characteristicts Important to Control:
Control of most beetles
Latin Name: Dinoderus minutus
Common Name: Bamboo Borer
Latin Family Name: Bostrichidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
This beetle is native to Asia, but because of its ability to be spread in infested wood products as well as grains, spices, and other foods, it is found throughout the world.
Biology:
The bamboo borer infests bamboo used in furniture and ornamentation, baskets, poles, or other structural uses, as well as spices, grains, cacao, flour, or dried fruits. It will continue to re-infest bamboo materials until much of the bamboo is gone. The life cycle from egg to adult completes in less than 2 months, and in interior environments there can be several generations each year. Both adults and larvae will bore into the wood, a characteristic of other members of this family.
Identification:
The bamboo borer is one of the smallest species in the family Bostrichidae, with adults measuring
Latin Name: Polycaon stouti
Common Name: Black Polycaon
Latin Family Name: Bostrichidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to western North America, where it is present along the Pacific Coast states and into Arizona.
Biology:
This is related to the Lead Cable Borer and Bamboo Borer, but is very different in appearance. It is a large beetle that attacks primarily softwoods, especially plywood products, but also has been found emerging from oak furniture, leaving a round exit hole about ¼ inch in diameter. It may attack plywood in storage, and then be built into homes or furniture, and generally does not re-infest the wood once it emerges as an adult. On several occasions it has been found in large numbers on hospital roofs or in chemical warehouses, possibly attracted by odors at those sites. The development from egg to adult may take a year or up to several years to complete. It is a common
Latin Name: Xestobium rufovillosum
Common Name: Deathwatch Beetle
Latin Family Name: Anobiidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Possibly European in origin, as it is a much more common and more important wood problem in those countries. It is also present in much of the United States, although not commonly, and is rarely found along the west coast.
Biology:
The deathwatch beetle is named for the habit of the adults of rapidly tapping their heads on a wood surface as a means of communicating with a potential mate. Adults emerge in the spring, mate, and die within a few weeks after this. Females lay around 50 eggs, 3 or 4 at a time, into pores, cracks, or holes in the wood, and these beetles will commonly re-infest the same wood they emerged from. Under good conditions the life cycle will be completed in one year, but examples have been seen where it took up to 10 years for the complete cycle from an egg to an adult beetle.
Latin Name: Smodicum cucujiforme
Common Name: Flat Oak Borer
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
This is a native species in the eastern United States.
Biology:
This beetle can be found commonly in the eastern half of the United States. It infests various kinds of hardwood trees such as oak, hickory, and maple, usually feeding in the dry heartwood of the tree. It also is known to infest hardwoods in storage or in structures, and thus becomes a potential re-infesting pest of wood, or it may also be built into the home with infested lumber. The female deposits eggs in crevices of exposed wood on dead trees or on lumber. The life cycle from egg to adult may be 1 or 2 years, depending on the region it occurs in.
Identification:
This is a small beetle for this family, with adults only about 3/8 inch long. They are elongate and narrow with the wings parallel sided, and have a flattened appearance from top to bottom.
Latin Name: Anobium punctatum
Common Name: Furniture Beetle
Latin Family Name: Anobiidae
Other Names: Wood worm
Pest Details
Origin:
Possibly European in origin, but it is found in many countries in temperate climates, including the United States, New Zealand, and England, and it is a much more severe pest in England and other European countries than in the U.S. It is, however, a very common problem in east coast cities and in northern California.
Biology:
The furniture beetle prefers wood with a high moisture content, and is capable of infesting both hardwoods and softwoods, with older fir timbers such as subflooring commonly infested. Eggs do not hatch well at a relative humidity below 60%, and in an indoor setting the life cycle may extend to two or three years from egg to adult, possibly as a result of the low humidity. In an outdoor setting it normally completes in a single year. The beetles can
Latin Name: Buprestis aurulenta
Common Name: Golden Buprestid
Other Names: The larva is the “flat headed borer”
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to North America
Biology:
These large beetles infest primarily softwoods such as fir, and are particularly found in Douglas Fir, which the larvae feed on only after the tree has died. They are commonly built into structures in infested lumber, as the milling process does not kill the beetle larvae already living in the dead tree. They will not re-infest structural wood members, but many cases have been seen where the adult delayed emergence from the wood for up to 50 years.
Identification:
Adult beetles are large and brightly metallic green on top, and either green or copper on the ventral side. They may be almost an inch long, with short, beaded antennae and a flattened boat-shaped body. The larvae are distinct and are referred to as flat-headed borers due to the
Latin Name: Scobicia declivis
Common Name: Lead Cable Borer
Latin Family Name: Bostrichidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to North America, and most common in the western states.
Biology:
These beetles may invade living trees as well as dead trees and lumber made from both hardwoods and softwoods. Their name is derived from their habit of boring into telephone cables, possibly to access the paper sheathing and insulation within. Females bore into solid wood to lay their eggs, and upon completion of a life cycle they may re-infest the same wood repeatedly, or attack other suitable woods nearby. There is a single generation per year, with the larval stage lasting up to 9 months. The beetles have been known to cause severe damage to wine casks, hardwood paneling and floors, and sheetrock which they emerge through from the wall members within the wall voids. They go after corks in wine bottles,
Latin Name: Xylotrechus nauticus
Common Name: Nautical Borer
Latin Family Name: Cerambycidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to the western United States.
Biology:
This is a common beetle in dead hardwood trees, and commonly occurs in homes when infested firewood is brought into the house in the fall. The warming of the wood signals springtime to the beetles in the wood, and they may emerge in large numbers. They do not infest structural wood members once they appear. There is one generation each year, and the pupa stage over-winters. It is not a pest species.
Identification:
The adult beetle is about ¾ of an inch long, and is dark gray with two wavy white lines across each elytron. The prothorax is narrow in front and much wider at the back, and the elytra are much wider at the anterior than the posterior. It has long legs and long antennae, and looks much like a large, black spider as