Saturday 15 June
Furniture beetle (Anobium punctatum)
Furniture beetle fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Furniture beetle description
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Insecta |
| Order | Coleoptera |
| Family | Anobiidae |
| Genus | Anobium |
The furniture beetle (Anobium punctatum), also known as ‘woodworm’, is a notorious pest of timber in buildings and old furniture (3). Very few people, however, have actually seen the small brown adult beetles responsible for making the characteristic round holes in timber when they emerge (4).
- Also known as
- Woodworm.
- Size
- Length: 2.5 – 5 mm (2)
- Deciduous
- A plant that sheds its leaves at the end of the growing season.
- Larvae
- Stage in an animal's lifecycle after it hatches from the egg. Larvae are typically very different in appearance to adults; they are able to feed and move around but usually are unable to reproduce.
- Pupation
- The process of becoming a pupa, the stage of an insect's development, when huge changes occur that reorganise the larval form into the adult form. In butterflies the pupa is also called a chrysalis.
- Harde, K.W.(2000) A field guide in colour to beetles Silverdale Books, Leicester.
- Buczaki, S. (2002) Fauna Britannica. Hamlyn, London.
-
Furniture beetle (October 2003):
http://www.npta.org.uk/furniture_beetle.htm -
Common furniture beetle Rentokil Initial research (October 2003):
http://www.ri-research.com/otherservices/propertycare/woodboring/frameset.htm - view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
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Related species
Furniture beetle biology
The adult beetles are usually active in late spring and early summer. They mate, and the females lay their eggs in crevices in wood, occasionally using existing furniture beetle exit holes (4). The larvae develop inside the timber, burrowing in and feeding upon the wood. The time taken for development depends on the type of wood and the temperature, but it usually takes more than two years for the adult to emerge (4). The fully grown larva creates a chamber just below the surface of the wood in which pupation takes place. It is the emergence of the adult beetle that creates the familiar round exit holes that indicate an infestation of furniture beetles (2).
TopFurniture beetle range
This very common species is found throughout Britain, but is most common in the south and east (5). The furniture beetle also occurs throughout Europe (4) and other parts of the world including New Zealand and Australia (5).
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Species with a similar range
|
You can view distribution information for this species at the National Biodiversity Network Gateway. |
Furniture beetle habitat
This species originally inhabited dry, dead wood of both deciduous and coniferous trees (2). Although it is still found in this wild habitat in small numbers, the furniture beetle has adapted very successfully to exploit human-created habitats such as old timber in buildings and furniture (4).
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Species found in a similar habitat
Furniture beetle status
The furniture beetle is not threatened in Britain (2).
TopFurniture beetle threats
The furniture beetle is not currently threatened in Britain.
TopFurniture beetle conservation
Conservation action is not required for this pest species.
|
|
There may be further information about this species available via the National Biodiversity Network Gateway. |
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This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact:
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Glossary
References
More »Related species
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Image credit
Furniture beetle
© Liz & Tony Bomford / www.ardea.com
Ardea wildlife pets environment
35 Brodrick Road
Wandsworth Common
London
SW17 7DX
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 208 672 2067
Fax: +44 (0) 208 672 8787
ardea@ardea.co.uk
http://www.ardea.com
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