Hobbies And Interests
Shipworms
These wood borers swim through the water and look like worms, but in reality they are a form of crustacean, classified as Bankia setacea. Their choice of host consists of wooden ship hulls and other types of submerged wood, including driftwood. This unusual clam usually finds a suitable host during the fall or winter months and begins its wood-boring activities at that time. This invader tunnels through bare wood, secreting a white substance after it is safely inside. Shipworms can ruin the wood of a ship, yet remain undetected from the outside of the hull. For centuries they have been the scourge of mariners, but recent use of fiberglass, high-tech paint and metal hulls have reduced their presence in ship hulls.
Carpenter Bees
Carpenter bees, Xylocopa Latreille, look a lot like bumble bees, but lack the hairy abdomen. Instead, the top of lower body is black and shiny. Their host of choice, according to the University of Kentucky, is the weathered or unpainted wood of cedar, redwood, cypress and pine. Here they burrow deep into the wood in order to lay their eggs in the spring. The eggs then hatch in the fall. The young adults will first feed on a supply of pollen left by their parents, yet the damage that can be caused by burrowing adults can be quite extensive. Painted wood is a good deterrent to carpenter bees.
Powderpost Beetles
Powderpost Beetles, Lyctus brunneus, can be some of the most damaging wood-boring insects that attack a house. This is especially true since these small reddish-colored beetles will infest either a softwood or hardwood substrate. However, according to Iowa State University, lumber must have a moisture content from 8 to 32 percent and starch content above 3 percent for the insect to attack. Most of the damage is done by the larvae of this insect. The adults lay their eggs in the open pores of the wood and when the larvae emerge they will burrow deep into the wood before they come out as adults.
Horntails
Horntails form the Tremex genus within the family Siricidae and commonly go by the name of wood wasps. These flying insects are distinguished by a short horn attached to their abdomen, which they use to bore into conifer trees, so they can lay their eggs. Consequently, the newly hatched larvae will tunnel their way through the wood and bark and out of the tree. Their favorite targets are trees that are dying or recently deceased, but the presence of this insect seldom occurs in large enough numbers to be a major problem. Wood wasps will attack milled wood only if the moisture content is high.