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Powderpost beetles are a group of seventy species of
Lyctinae at Fauna Europaea
Powderpost Beetle Fact Sheet
from the National Pest Management Association with information on habits, habitat and prevention
at the
Powderpost beetles – The other, other wood destroying insects
from Michigan State University Extension.
the effect of beetles on wooden structures. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2638541 Bostrichidae Building defects Household pest insects Woodboring beetles
Powderpost beetles are a group of seventy species of woodboring beetle
The term woodboring beetle encompasses many species and families of beetles whose larval or adult forms eat and destroy wood (i.e., are xylophagous). In the woodworking industry, larval stages of some are sometimes referred to as woodworms. The ...
s classified in the insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pa ...
subfamily Lyctinae. These beetles, along with spider beetle
Spider beetles make up the subfamily Ptininae, in the family Ptinidae. There are approximately 70 genera and 600 species in the subfamily, with about 12 genera and 70 species in North America north of Mexico.
Spider beetles have round bodies wi ...
s, death watch beetle
The deathwatch beetle (''Xestobium rufovillosum'') is a species of woodboring beetle that sometimes infests the structural timbers of old buildings. The adult beetle is brown and measures on average long. Eggs are laid in dark crevices in old w ...
s, common furniture beetle
The common furniture beetle or common house borer (''Anobium punctatum'') is a woodboring beetle originally from Europe but now distributed worldwide. In the larval stage it bores in wood and feeds upon it. Adult ''Anobium punctatum'' measure in ...
s, skin beetles
Dermestidae are a family of Coleoptera that are commonly referred to as skin beetles. Other common names include larder beetle, hide or leather beetles, carpet beetles, and khapra beetles. There are over 1,100 species described.
Dermestids have ...
, and others, make up the superfamily Bostrichoidea
Bostrichoidea is a superfamily of beetles. It is the type superfamily of the infraorder Bostrichiformia.
Description
The Bostrichoidea are united by the following features: modified cryptonephridism, the structure of the aedeagus in males, an ...
. While most woodborers have a large prothorax
The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum ( dorsal), the prosternum ( ventral), and the propleuron ( lateral) o ...
, powderpost beetles do not, making their heads more visible. In addition to this, their antennae have two-jointed clubs. They are considered pests
PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...
and attack deciduous trees, over time reducing the wood to a powdery dust. The damage caused by longhorn beetles
The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than ...
(family Cerambycidae) is often confused with that of powderpost beetles, but the two groups are unrelated. The larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
...
e of the Cerambycidae are white, straight and generally flat-headed, whereas those of the Bostrichidae are white and C-shaped.
Name
The term "powderpost" comes from the fact that the larvae of these beetles feed onwood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
and, given enough time, can reduce it to a mass of fine powder. Because of this behavior, they are considered pests. These beetles can survive in colder climates.
Life cycle
Powderpost beetle larvae spend months or years insidewood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
while developing, feeding mainly on the starch content. Their presence is only apparent when they emerge as adults, leaving behind pinhole-sized openings, often called "shot holes". They may also leave piles of powdery frass
Frass refers loosely to the more or less solid excreta of insects, and to certain other related matter.
Definition and etymology
''Frass'' is an informal term and accordingly it is variously used and variously defined. It is derived from the ...
below. Shot holes normally range in diameter from to , depending on the species of beetle. If wood conditions are right, female beetles may lay their eggs and re-infest the wood, continuing the cycle for generations.
Target materials
Powderpost beetles feed on deciduous trees, including certainhardwood
Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...
s or softwood
Scots Pine, a typical and well-known softwood
Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers. The term is opposed to hardwood, which is the wood from angiosperm trees. The main differences between hardwoods and softwoods is that the s ...
s depending on the species. Some hardwoods are naturally immune if they have low starch content or if their pore diameters are too small for the female beetle's ovipositor
The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...
to lay her eggs in.
Wood preservatives can be used to prevent beetle infestation. Common treatments may use borate
A borate is any of several boron oxyanions, negative ions consisting of boron and oxygen, such as orthoborate , metaborate , or tetraborate ; or any salt with such anions, such as sodium metaborate, and disodium tetraborate . The name also re ...
, and frequently structural fumigation
Fumigation is a method of pest control or the removal of harmful micro-organisms by completely filling an area with gaseous pesticides—or fumigants—to suffocate or poison the pests within. It is used to control pests in buildings ( ...
.
Items that can be infested by powderpost beetles include wooden tools or tool handles, frames, furniture, gun stocks, books, toys, bamboo, flooring, and structural timbers.
References
Bibliography
*External links
* *Lyctinae at Fauna Europaea
Powderpost Beetle Fact Sheet
from the National Pest Management Association with information on habits, habitat and prevention
at the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...
.Powderpost beetles – The other, other wood destroying insects
from Michigan State University Extension.
the effect of beetles on wooden structures. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2638541 Bostrichidae Building defects Household pest insects Woodboring beetles