Worms That Bore Holes in Wood

Common Furniture Beetle

• The adult female common furniture beetle (Anobium punctatum) lays its eggs in holes and cracks already present in wood. About three weeks later, the larvae are born and proceed to bore their way through the wood, consuming and growing in size for three to four years. The larvae are recognizable for their distinctive curved shape and creamy color. Eventually the fully matured adult beetles will emerge to mate and then die within a few days.

The European House Borer

• Newer houses made of pine, as well as dead pine trees, are prime targets for the European house borer (Hylotrupes bajulus -- Linnaeus). Once the eggs hatch inside small holes in the wood, the larvae take around two to three years to develop, potentially less if the wood is particularly moist. In the springtime, the adult beetles bore their way out of the wood just in time for mating season, which occurs in summer.

Death-Watch Beetle

• Death-watch beetles (Xestobium rufovillosum) lay their eggs deep inside decaying wood. The hatched larvae will eventually bore holes by releasing powerful enzymes to break down the wood before ingesting it. When the adults emerge, they crawl high up into old buildings and make a distinctive clicking sound to attract potential mates. This phenomenon has been taken as an omen of approaching death, as featured in "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe and in Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes."

Drugstore Beetle

• As its name suggests, human contact with the drugstore beetle (Stegobium paniceum Linnaeus) usually occurs in pharmaceutical products, but sometimes the adult female will lay its eggs in wooden furniture also. The beetle can only survive in symbiosis with yeast, so the female will coat the eggs in a fungus derived from yeast. The larvae burrow through the wood for several months or even years, depending on the nutritional content of material. They are born in batches of 60 or more and are distinctive for their diminutive size and white coloring.

Shipworms

• Shipworms (Teredo navalis) are, in fact, a variety of clam that inhabits and consumes rotting wood. By releasing bacteria, they can bore holes deep into wooden structures; if left alone, they can do significant damage to boat hulls and wooden dykes.