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Size: |
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Adults are 1/32-3/8 inch (1.1-9 mm) long; those in structures are usually 1/8-1/4 inch (3-7 mm) long. Mature larvae are up to about 1/2 inch (11 mm) long. |
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Characteristics: |
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Adult: hood-like prothorax usually encloses head, hiding it from top. Club on antenna is not symmetrical; the last 3 segments are usually lengthened, and sometimes also expanded. Larva is C-shaped with an enlarged thorax, short 2-segmented antennae, and hairy 4-segmented legs. |
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Color: |
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Adult is reddish brown to nearly grayish black, sometimes with areas of scale-like yellowish hairs on pronotum (top body plate) and elytra (hardened fore-wings). Larva is nearly white. |
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Droppings: |
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Powdery frass containing pellets that are gritty and lemon-shaped in softwoods, but tightly packed in hardwoods. |
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Where Found: |
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Possibly European in origin. Found around the world, with about 310 species in the United States. |
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Comparison: |
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More common than Powderpost Beetles (lyctids) and False Powderpost Beetles (bostrichids). Name, for some species, refers to the mating call; a tapping sound made by jaws hitting the wood walls of their tunnels. When heard while sitting through the night with a sick person, there was a superstition that the invalid would soon die. Bostrichids have heads that are not easy to see from the top, short antennae with compact clubs, and rasp-like teeth. Lyctids have flat bodies, with heads easy to see from the top. Bark and Ambrosia Beetles have elbowed antennae with symmetrical clubs. Dermestid Beetles have antennae with symmetrical clubs. |
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Habitat: |
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Sapwood of softwoods and hardwoods with a moisture content of 13-30%. |
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Food: |
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Studies indicate that Deathwatch Beetles (anobiids), unlike False Powderpost Beetles (bostrichids) and Powderpost Beetles (lyctids), can digest wood cellulose due to yeast cells in their digestive tracts. |
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Biology: |
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Adults emerges in the spring. Beetles are nocturnal and females lay 20-60 eggs in cracks, in old exit holes and under surface splinters of wood. After hatching, larvae bore against the wood grain, then turn and go along the grain, packing their frass and fine wood fragments into the tunnel behind them. In softwood (conifer) this mixture feels gritty due to the shape of the pellets; in hardwood (broadleaf) the mixture is tightly packed and not gritty. With each larval molt and for pupation the tunnel is made wider. The adult bores straight to the surface of the wood to exit. (This differs from False Powderpast Beetles (bostrichids), which bore almost to the surface first before pupating.) The adult does not feed, but looks for a mate. Development from egg to adult takes 1 year in good conditions, but often 2-3+ years indoors. |
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Damage: |
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Damage to structural timbers, lumber and lumber products, especially in the southeastern states and in moist coastal states. In structures, most species attack only older wood 9-10+ years old. |
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Invasion: |
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Female usually lays eggs on same wood from which she emerged. |
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Control: |
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Wood Destroying Organism control requires inspection of the structure by a registered company and state licensed inspector to find and identify conditions. A written report will be issued. This report must list findings and appropriate recommendations as per the rules and regulations established by the regulatory agencies in the various States. Consult with you local office for the requirements that effect your structure.
Look for round exit holes, diameter 1/16-1/8 inch with piles of gritty powder nearby. In spring there may be new exit holes; in summer there may be new exit holes as well as some adult insects visible. Appropriate recommendations can be made once a proper inspection is performed. Fumigation of the entire structure may be recommended or treatment with other registered materials may be made locally. Replacement or reinforcement of infested or damaged wood members may be recommended. |
