Dead-wood
Guides
Pediacus gracilis
Pediacus gracilis is a species of flat bark beetle in the family Cucujidae, described by Thomas in 2004. The genus Pediacus comprises flattened beetles associated with dead wood habitats. This species is distinguished from congeners by its slender body form, as indicated by its specific epithet. Records indicate presence in North America, though detailed biological information remains limited.
Phymatodes
Phymatodes is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) in the tribe Callidiini, with more than 50 described species distributed across the northern hemisphere. The genus is most diverse in western North America, where 26 species are currently recognized. Species exhibit considerable taxonomic complexity, with recent nomenclatural revisions clarifying misapplied names and synonymies. Some species are associated with specific host plants, including grape vines (Vitis) and maple (Acer), while others have broader host associations.
Piestinae
Piestinae is a subfamily of rove beetles (Staphylinidae) characterized by an elongate, flattened body form and antennae inserted beneath shelf-like projections of the frons. Members are primarily associated with decaying wood habitats, where many species occur under bark. The subfamily includes several genera, notably Piestus and Siagonium. Ecologically, they function as saprophages or mycophages in dead wood ecosystems.
Pityobius
Pityobius is a genus of click beetles (Elateridae) in the subfamily Pityobiinae. Members of this genus are associated with woody habitats, particularly dead or decaying wood. The genus was established by John Lawrence LeConte in 1853 and is native to North America.
Priognathus monilicornis
Necklace-horned Dead Log Beetle
A small beetle in the family Pythidae, commonly known as the Necklace-horned Dead Log Beetle. Found in decaying wood habitats across western and central Canada. The common name refers to the beaded or necklace-like appearance of its antennae.
Pseudocorticus blairi
Pseudocorticus blairi is a species of cylindrical bark beetle in the family Zopheridae, subfamily Colydiinae. Described by Hinton in 1935, this species belongs to a genus of small, elongate beetles associated with dead wood habitats. The genus Pseudocorticus occurs in Middle America, with this species recorded from the region. As with many colydiine beetles, detailed biological information remains limited.
Pytho
dead log beetles, dead log bark beetles
Pytho is a small genus of saproxylic beetles in the family Pythidae, commonly known as dead log beetles or dead log bark beetles. The genus comprises approximately nine to ten described species distributed across the Holarctic region, recognized as typically boreal taxa. Species inhabit the cambial layer of dead trees, particularly conifers, where larvae feed on partially decomposed wood and bark. Several species have disjunct distributions spanning North America, Europe, and Japan, reflecting complex historical biogeographic patterns involving vicariance and dispersal across Beringia. Some species, such as P. abieticola, are considered relicts of primeval forests and are in decline across much of Central Europe.
Pytho americanus
dead log beetle
Pytho americanus is a species of dead log beetle in the family Pythidae. It is native to North America, with records from Canada and the northern United States. The species exhibits notable cold tolerance adaptations, including the ability to overwinter in both larval and adult stages and the synthesis of glycerol during cold acclimation. These physiological traits allow it to persist in climates with severe winter conditions.
Rhyncolus minor
Rhyncolus minor is a species of weevil in the family Curculionidae, subfamily Cossoninae. Members of the genus Rhyncolus are typically associated with dead wood and are considered secondary colonizers of decaying timber. This species is part of a group of small, cylindrical weevils characterized by elongated rostra and fossorial (burrowing) habits.
Rhyopsocus celtis
Rhyopsocus celtis is a species of psocid (barklouse) in the family Psoquillidae, described by Mockford in 2016. The specific epithet "celtis" indicates its association with hackberry trees (Celtis spp.), which serve as its host. The species belongs to a small genus of psocids that inhabit dead or dying woody vegetation.
Rhyssella nitida
Rhyssella nitida is a diurnal ichneumon wasp in the family Ichneumonidae. The female possesses an exceptionally long ovipositor used to drill into wood and locate host larvae. It is an external parasitoid of wood-wasp larvae in the genus Xiphydria. The species has been documented at blacklight traps, though this appears to be an exception to its normally diurnal activity pattern.
Schizotus
fire-colored beetles
Schizotus is a genus of fire-colored beetles in the family Pyrochroidae, established by Newman in 1838. The genus contains at least three described species distributed across the Palaearctic region. Adults are small beetles, 7–9 mm in length, with distinctive pectinate (comb-like) antennae. Members are associated with dead and decaying wood, where larvae develop beneath loose bark.
Scobicia
horned powder-post beetles
Scobicia is a genus of wood-boring beetles in the family Bostrichidae, containing approximately 11 described species. Members are small beetles, with adults of at least one species measuring 3.3–4.5 mm in length. The genus is placed in the tribe Xyloperthini and is distributed across southern Europe, North Africa, and parts of the Middle East. At least some species are pests of dead or felled timber, creating extensive tunnel systems in stored wood.
Stictoleptura
Stictoleptura is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) distributed across the Holarctic region, with species in Europe, Asia, and North America. The genus includes medium-sized beetles typically associated with broadleaved woodland habitats. The first genome sequence for the genus was published for Stictoleptura scutellata, a scarce species in Britain associated with ancient woodland and wood pasture.
Temnoscheila chlorodia
green bark-gnawing beetle, green bark beetle, Pine Trogossitid Beetle
Temnoscheila chlorodia is a bark-gnawing beetle in the family Trogossitidae, known by common names including green bark-gnawing beetle and Pine Trogossitid Beetle. Adults are metallic green or blue predators that forage beneath bark of dead trees. The species occurs in western North America and shows bimodal adult activity in late spring and late summer. Both adults and larvae are predatory, hunting in decaying wood and associated with wood-boring insect nests and wood-decay fungi.
Tenebroides rugosipennis
Tenebroides rugosipennis is a species of bark-gnawing beetle in the family Trogossitidae. Members of this genus are generally associated with dead or decaying wood and fungal habitats. This species is poorly documented in scientific literature, with minimal published information available regarding its biology and ecology. It belongs to a family containing both predatory and mycophagous species.
Trichochrous ferrugineus
Trichochrous ferrugineus is a species of false click beetle in the family Eucnemidae, a group of saproxylic beetles associated with decaying wood. The genus Trichochrous comprises small to medium-sized beetles characterized by their elongated bodies and reduced or non-functional clicking mechanism compared to true click beetles (Elateridae). Species in this genus are typically found in forested habitats where they develop in dead or dying hardwoods.
Urgleptes querci
Oak Long-horned Beetle
Urgleptes querci is a species of longhorn beetle in the family Cerambycidae, first described by Asa Fitch in 1858. It is a small to medium-sized cerambycid native to eastern North America, where it develops in dead wood of various hardwood trees. The species is highly polyphagous and has been recorded from multiple host plants including oak, pawpaw, and other deciduous trees. Adults are active during the growing season and are likely nocturnal or crepuscular, as is typical for many Lamiinae.
Uropodina
Uropodina is an infraorder of mites in the order Mesostigmata, characterized by morphologically variable forms with fused sternal and ventral shields, short legs with reduced setae, and stigmata positioned between the second and third leg pairs. Most species inhabit soil, forest litter, and decaying organic matter, where they function primarily as predators of small invertebrates. Many species exhibit phoresy during the deutonymph stage, attaching to insects and other arthropods for dispersal using a secreted elastic pedicel. Reproduction is predominantly sexual, though parthenogenesis occurs in some species with males rare or absent.
Vrilletta
Vrilletta is a genus of small beetles in the family Ptinidae (formerly Anobiidae), containing 10 described species distributed primarily in North America. The genus was established by J.L. LeConte in 1874 and is classified within the subfamily Xyletininae. Species are recorded from western and eastern North America, with several endemic to California. These beetles are associated with dead wood and woody materials.
Xylobiini
Xylobiini is a tribe of false click beetles within the family Eucnemidae, subfamily Melasinae. Members of this tribe are associated with decaying wood habitats and are part of the diverse elateriform beetle fauna. The tribe was established by Reitter in 1911 and includes genera characterized by particular morphological features of the prosternal process and antennae. Xylobiini represents one of several tribes within the predominantly saproxylic subfamily Melasinae.