Story: Beetles

House borers (Anobium punctatum), only 3–4 millimetres long, were introduced from Europe. People with old wooden houses and furniture know them all too well. Female beetles lay eggs in cracks, crevices, end-grain timbers, or old borer holes. The larvae hatch and eat the timber for two to three years, making unsightly holes and tunnels. Adults bore exit holes in the wood in summer, and fly away. Little piles of dust near holes indicate an infestation. Borer can be killed by spraying insecticide into the holes.