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    Wood Destroying Insects: Wood Borers and Termites
    Wood Destroying Insects: Wood Borers and Termites
    Wood Destroying Insects: Wood Borers and Termites
    Ebook105 pages49 minutes

    Wood Destroying Insects: Wood Borers and Termites

    By JW Creffield

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    About this ebook

    This book provides architects, engineers, builders, foresters, members of the pest control and timber industries, and the general public with a ready source of reference to the more important wood borers and termites encountered in Australia. Many species of timber can be attacked by wood-destroying insects such as wood borers and termites.

    With some species of wood borer or termite, an infestation can result in serious economic damage necessitating treatment and repair or replacement of the affected timber. With other species, remedial action is unnecessary. In many situations, preventive measures can significantly reduce the damage caused by these wood-destroying insects.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCSIRO PUBLISHING
    Release dateJan 1, 1996
    ISBN9780643102910
    Wood Destroying Insects: Wood Borers and Termites

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      Book preview

      Wood Destroying Insects - JW Creffield

      Wood Borers

      In Australia, the discovery of wood borer activity is rarely cause for concern. In most cases, eradicative or remedial treatment is not required as the damage caused to timber and timber products is superficial and of no structural significance. However, it is essential to correctly identify the wood borer responsible and whether the infestation is still active. In addition, a thorough assessment of the extent of damage caused should be undertaken.

      The borers described are the most frequently encountered by home owners and those of the timber-using industries in Australia.

      Fig. 3. Adult beetle of Anobium punctatum.

      General biology and diagnostic features of damage

      Most wood borers are beetles which at some stage of their development bore into wood for food or shelter. These beetles which belong to the family Coleoptera undergo complete metamorphosis, passing through four distinct stages of development: egg, larva, pupa and adult (Figures 1, 2 and 3). The larvae of the majority of wood borers actively tunnel in the wood and derive their nourishment from it. With some exceptions, the only damage the adult beetles cause is the emergence hole (flight hole) they make through the surface of the infested timber as they emerge. After emergence and mating, the female may return to lay eggs in the timber from which she emerged. The adults usually live for only a few weeks.

      Some borers lay their eggs beneath the surface of the wood; others lay them in cracks and crevices, or where one piece of timber abutts another. Some borers introduce the spores of wood-rotting or wood-softening fungi with their eggs, whereas others do not. Some species attack only green timber, although they can often complete their life cycle and emerge after the timber has dried out. Other species attack only seasoned timber whilst, others attack timber which is decaying due to wood-rotting fungi. A knowledge of these characteristics and habits can assist with the recognition of the type of borer responsible for damage. When necessary, appropriate action can then be taken.

      The diagnostic features of the damage caused by a number of common wood borers are shown in Table 1. For simplicity, a division has been made between those species attacking standing trees and green timber, those which attack seasoned timber, and those which attack decaying wood.

      Fig. 1. Larva of Anobium punctatum.

      Fig. 2. Pupa of Anobium punctatum.

      Borers attacking standing trees and green timber

      The pinhole borers

      Pinhole borers are forest insects belonging to the families Platypodidae, Scolytidae or Lymexylidae. They are capable of attacking both standing trees and freshly felled logs, but they do not and cannot initiate attack in seasoned timber. Attack may occur in the living tree or in the freshly felled logs. Most pinhole attacks occur in hardwoods, but softwoods are not immune from attack.

      Table 1. Diagnostic features of the damage caused by the more common wood border

      The members of the families Platypodidae and Scolytidae are often known as ambrosia beetles. Platypodids attack both sapwood and heartwood, whereas Scolytids attack mostly the bark and sapwood regions. Their attack is initiated by adult beetles boring into the timber, excavating galleries (tunnels), and placing eggs within the timber at the termination of the various branches of the tunnels (Figure 4). These pinhole borers may thus be regarded as a distinct group among the wood boring beetles, as it is the adult beetle, and not the larva, or grub, which causes damage to the timber. After hatching from the eggs, larvae live and grow in the galleries constructed by the parent, until they reach maturity. They feed not on wood, but on the fungal growth, termed ambrosia which is introduced into the frass-free galleries by the female prior to egg-laying. Because these fungi require moisture for their development, they will die as the timber dries, and consequently the larvae will not survive. This is why pinhole borers attack only green timber and will not infest or reinfest once the wood has dried. With these species, the frass or borer dust takes the form of a loose powder which is ejected onto the surface of the log where it may lie in piles (before falling

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