Lyctinae

Definition

A subfamily of small woodboring beetles (superfamily Bostrichoidea) whose larvae reduce seasoned hardwoods—particularly the sapwood of deciduous trees—to a fine, powdery frass. Adults are distinguished from related borers by a visible head (the prothorax does not overhang it) and antennae with two-jointed clubs. The group comprises roughly seventy species, several of which are significant pests of timber, flooring, and wooden artifacts.

Etymology

Example

Lyctus planicollis, a widespread member of Lyctinae, commonly infests oak flooring and furniture in North America, leaving exit holes 1–2 mm in diameter and piles of talc-like frass beneath the wood surface.

Synonyms

• powderpost beetles

Related Terms

• Bostrichoidea
• Bostrichidae
• woodboring beetle
• Frass
• sapwood
• prothorax
• Cerambycidae

Usage Notes

The common name 'powderpost beetles' is often applied to Lyctinae specifically, though it is sometimes used more broadly for any beetle producing fine wood powder; in strict technical usage it refers to this subfamily. Distinguished from longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) by larval form—Lyctinae larvae are C-shaped and less flattened, with reduced legs—and from deathwatch beetles (Anobiinae) by the two-segmented antennal club and lack of a hood-like prothorax.