Characteristics

Adult

1. Adult body around 8 mm long.
2. Colour reddish brown to black.
3. The body is elongate and cylindrical.
4. Head directed downward and usually not visible from above.

Larvae

1. Larvae about 5 – 8 mm long.
2. Colour nearly white. Body
3. C- shaped but with thorax enlarged.

Introduction

Bostrichids are commonly known as the false powderpost beetles. They are worldwide in distribution.

Damage

Exit holes are round and depending on the species, normally range from 2.5 to 7 mm in diameter. Another indication of an infestation is the accumulation of piles of powdery, meallike frass beneath the exit holes or streaming from them. This frass/ dust is tightly packed in the tunnels or galleries and contains no pallets like the frass of anobiids.

Biology & Life Cycle

The bostrichid female differs from anobiid and lyctid beetles because they bore into wood to form an egg gallery where the eggs are inserted into pores in the wood as she moves in and out of the egg tunnel. The eggs hatch in about three weeks, and the larvae feed on the wood for the next nine months. The pupal stage lasts two weeks; however, the new adults stay in the tunnel for four to six weeks, then chew their way out of the gallery, emerging through a round exit hole 1/8- to 1/4-inch in diameter. The developmental time (egg to adult) requires approximately one year.

Control

Wood-boring beetles are difficult to control once an infestation has begun. Prevention is the best management method. Protective measures should be taken at every stage of lumber processing and handling including lumber mills, plywood mills, lumber yards, furniture manufacturing factories, and building construction firms. Sanitation is the most important aspect of prevention. Remove and destroy dead tree limbs around buildings or near any area where wood products are stored. Destroy scrap lumber and other wood products before they become infested. Kiln drying of lumber destroys beetle infestations, although it does not prevent reinfestation. Materials used for construction of buildings and wood furniture should be thoroughly inspected before use to be certain that they do not contain wood-boring beetles. Protect wood from infestation by painting or varnishing to seal pores, cracks, and holes where eggs could be laid, example of the chemical which can be used to protect wood is DTM wood protectant. Chemical control which believed to treat powderpost beetle effectively is deltamethrin.