''Upis ceramboides'' is a species of beetle, one of many wood-living insects that benefit from forest fires. It often occurs in quantities below the bark on the fire-damaged

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

es, but can sometimes be seen on other

deciduous tree In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

s such as

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

and

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...

. The larvae thrive in the inner bark which is rich in

mycelia Mycelium (plural mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in and on soil and many other substrates. A typical single spore germinates ...

, and in the sapwood. They develop into pupae during the summer months under the bark, and they develop over two or three years. The following spring they reproduce themselves. It has over the years have disappeared from southern Sweden and is now only locally in the

Norrland Norrland (, "Northland", originally ''Norrlanden'' or "the Northlands") is the northernmost, largest and least populated of the three traditional lands of Sweden, consisting of nine provinces. Although Norrland does not serve any administ ...

coast (

Västerbotten Västerbotten (), known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in the north of Sweden, bordering Ångermanland, Lapland, North Bothnia, and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is known for the cheese named after the p ...

and

Norrbotten Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Swe ...

) as well as Canada and Alaska. The reason for the species' decline is probably the lack of fire-damaged forests and birch, and the modern forestry practices. ''Upis ceramboides'' is considered "vulnerable" in terms of species survival. In Vindeln municipality it is called ', because it occurs indoors when burning firewood in winter. The species' survival at temperatures well below freezing are attributed to the xylomannan non-protein antifreeze molecule (polysaccharide and a fatty acid) as well as the sugar-alcohol,

threitol Threitol is a four-carbon sugar alcohol with the molecular formula C4H10O4. It is primarily used as an intermediate in the chemical synthesis of other compounds. It is the diastereomer of erythritol, which is used as a sugar substitute. In livin ...

. Other notable freeze-tolerant animals include the fly ''

Polypedilum vanderplanki ''Polypedilum vanderplanki'' or the sleeping chironomid, is a dipteran in the family Chironomidae (non-biting midges). It occurs in the semi-arid regions of the African continent (e.g. northern Nigeria and Uganda). Its larvae are found in small t ...

'' and the beetle '' Cucujus clavipes puniceus''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7898325 Endemic fauna of Sweden Tenebrionidae Beetles described in 1758