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Bostrichids are commonly known as the false powderpost beetles. They are worldwide in distribution.

Characteristics

Adult body around 8 mm long.
Colour reddish brown to black.
The body is elongate and cylindrical.
Head directed downward and usually not visible from above.

Larvae
Larvae about 5 – 8 mm long.
Colour nearly white.
Body C- shaped but with thorax enlarged.

Biology & Life Cycle

The bostrichid female differs from anobiid and lyctid beetles because they bore into wood to form an egg gallery where the eggs are inserted into pores in the wood as she moves in and out of the egg tunnel. The eggs hatch in about three weeks, and the larvae feed on the wood for the next nine months. The pupal stage lasts two weeks; however, the new adults stay in the tunnel for four to six weeks, then chew their way out of the gallery, emerging through a round exit hole 1/8- to 1/4-inch in diameter. The developmental time (egg to adult) requires approximately one year.