Ship-timber-beetle
Guides
Hylecoetus
ship-timber beetles
Hylecoetus is a genus of ship-timber beetles in the family Lymexylidae, historically noted for the European species Hylecoetus flabellicornis that infested wooden ship timbers. Adults are attracted to light and are primarily nocturnal. The genus belongs to a family whose evolutionary placement has shifted historically, now generally placed within Cucujiformia near Cleroidea and Cucujoidea, though some analyses suggest a position within Tenebrionoidea.
Hylecoetus lugubris
Sapwood Timberworm Beetle
Hylecoetus lugubris is a ship-timber beetle (family Lymexylidae) native to North America. The species is currently classified as a synonym of Elateroides lugubris in some taxonomic databases, though iNaturalist maintains it under the genus Hylecoetus. Like other lymexylids, it is associated with dead or decaying wood, where larvae bore into hardwoods. The family is characterized by reduced elytra in some genera, though Hylecoetus species retain more typical beetle morphology compared to the highly modified Atractocerus. The common name 'Sapwood Timberworm Beetle' refers to its larval habit of tunneling in the sapwood of trees.