Powder post beetle Lyctus brunneus

Adult beetle

Size: 4-6mm

Shape: long, flattened beetle shape

Colour: reddish brown

Antennae: medium with a two-segmented club

Distinguishing features: head always visible from above, body is flattened. This is one of the few beetles with antennae with a club of two segments rather than three.

Larvae eat: wood with a very high starch content.

Damage is: tunnels and 1.5-2.5mm exit holes with copious quantities of powdery, talc-like frass.

Adults eat: very little.

Other info: As Lyctus species require high levels of starch, in the UK they are nearly always found in fresh, imported wood. This can be both building timber and objects. They are very rarely found infesting collections which have been in the UK for some years.
The frass is very distinctive and unlike the gritty frass of Furniture beetle or Wood Weevils.
Drawing of Lyctus brunneus
Lyctus adult and larva
Lyctus adult

Powder post beetle Lyctus brunneus

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Drawing of Lyctus brunneus
Lyctus adult and larva
Lyctus adult