Xylophages (wood insects)
Introduction
The terms woodworm and kera are used as the common name for the larvae of several species of xylophagous beetles that perforate and degrade wood (beams, furniture, coffered ceilings, etc.) and damage it by feeding on its cellulose and leaving a characteristic dust called sawdust or quera") as a product of this activity. This process generates galleries in beams, furniture and architectural structures, compromising the integrity of the wood. wood.[1].
Strictly speaking, the term woodworm is reserved for members of the family "Family (biology)") Ptinidae (formerly Anobiidae), especially the genus Anobium, whose adults are small beetles with a cylindrical body and a head hidden under the pronotum. However, popular use of the term has spread to other families of xylophagous beetles such as Cerambycidae (e.g. Hylotrupes bajulus) and Curculionidae (Sitophilus spp.).[2].
The woodworm infestation in buildings and furniture is easy to recognize more by its footprints and sound when eating the wood (holes and sawdust) than by the sight of the insect itself, since many people are unaware of what it looks like. The woodworm colonizes and damages the wood in the larval state (caterpillar "Caterpillar (larva)"), but just before going outside it undergoes a metamorphosis "Metamorphosis (biology)") into a beetle with the ability to fly.
Distribution and characteristics
They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with records in temperate, tropical and subtropical regions, both in natural and domestic environments.[1][2].
Adults are small beetles, generally 1.5 to 9 mm in length, with a cylindrical body and brown or blackish integument. The head is partially hidden under the pronotum, with large eyes widely separated, and the antennae have thickened terminal club-shaped segments, typical of the Ptinidae group.[1].
They have a short adult life, limited to reproduction and dispersal. Females deposit their eggs in cracks, joints or rough surfaces of unpolished wood, where the larvae develop by excavating internal galleries. [2].