common name: Powder Post Beetle

scientific name: Order Coleoptera, family Lyctidae, Lyctus planicollis

size: Adult--1/12" to 1/5", larva--1/8" to 1/3"

identification: Adults are small brown beetles; not often seen. Larvae look like small white grubs with large heads. Holes in wood are 1/16" to 1/4".

biology and life cycle: Larvae overwinter and pupate in the spring. Adults emerge in the spring or early summer. Eggs are laid in the pores of wood. Larvae eat wood and pack burrows with fine flourlike frass. Several generations a year.

habitat: Dry wood (does not have to be in contact with the soil). Timbers of buildings, log cabins, lumber, furniture, tool handles, wheel spokes, oars, barrels, and flooring.

feeding habits: Larvae eat hard dry wood.

economic importance: Second only to termites as destroyers of seasoned wood. They often reinfest hardwood for many generations.

natural control: Ichneumon wasps.

organic control: Boric acid products. Use of kiln-dried wood.

insight: These are destructive little guys that are hard to control after they have started their tunneling. The little critters must be heat or light sensitive.