Proper kiln drying eliminates infestations within raw hardwood materials, and use 
of water repellents seals pores of processed materials to prevent egg laying. Because 
of limited supplies, many of the most susceptible hardwoods such as ash, oak, 
pecan, and walnut are used as veneers, especially in furniture and paneling. 
Processes of drying and gluing veneers minimize lyctid beetle attacks. 
Lyctid infestations are frequently associated with the use and movement of 
tropical hardwoods (/3/, 275). This same association should occur in the United 
States because imported hardwoods are now frequently used as millwork, molding, 
picture framing, or as core material for plywood and paneling (7/0). These and 
other solid wood products are exposed to lyctid attack during the long period from 
tree felling in the tropics to final use in this country. 
Adults may emerge from infested wood at any season in heated buildings. Wood 
may be successfully attacked when its moisture content is between 6 and 30 
percent. Larval development is better when the moisture content is near the 
midpoint of this range rather than at either extreme (/038). Thus, wood in any 
centrally heated or airconditioned building contains enough moisture for suc- 
cessful attack, and the same wood may be infested repeatedly until it is rendered 
useless. Infestations may also spread to other hardwoods nearby. In this manner and 
through the sale of infested products, lyctid beetles may become widely dispersed 
from a single source. Nevertheless, lyctid beetle damage is more common in the 
warmer Southern States than in the Northern States. 
About 14 species in the genus Lyctus were reported from the United States. The 
southern lyctus beetle, L. planicollis LeConte, is a common native species. Adults 
are usually black but may be reddish brown; they are 4 to 6 mm long. Usually there 
is only one generation per year, but under favorable conditions a generation may be 
completed in 3 months or less (206, 207, /36/). Information on rearing techniques — 
has been published (833, //13, 1360). 
Lyctus brunneus (Stephens), an introduced species, is the species most fre- 
quently associated with imported woods. Adults are 4 to 6 mm long; most of them 
are reddish brown, but some are black. L. brunneus is widely distributed and 
studied throughout the world. Rearing methods (529, /038) have been developed 
and information on its biology summarized (/3/, 567). 
Lyctus africanus Lesne and Minthea rugicollis (Walker) are also often inter- 
cepted in imported hardwood products. Both species appear to be of tropical origin 
and apparently have not become established in this country. 
Trogoxylon parallelopipedum (Melsheimer) is another common native species. 
Adults are smaller in average size than adults of L. planicollis and usually reddish in 
color. Studies of the biology of this species have been published (206, 207). 
Family Bostrichidae 
False Powderpost Beetles 
The family Bostrichidae contains about 455 species, most of which are indige- 
nous to the tropics. Like the anobiids, members of the family vary considerably in 
habits—most species attack dead portions of trees, some breed in fungi, some are 
cosmopolitan pests of stored products, many species attack a wide variety of plants, 
and a few species reportedly attack weakened living trees. Like lyctid beetles, 
starch is an essential nutrient, and the sapwood portions of hardwoods are fre- 
quently attacked. Unlike lyctids, bostrichids do not reinfest wood after it is dry. 
Many of the larger bostrichid species in tropical regions cause extensive damage to 
unseasoned hardwoods used as packing crates and to bamboo products (/32). 
256 
