(Anobium punctatum)
Biology:
The common nail beetle, whose larvae are commonly referred to as “woodworm”, is brown in color as an adult beetle and grows up to 4 mm long. The last 3 limbs of its antennae are elongated. It is sometimes confused with the bread beetle, which also belongs to the gnawing beetles, but can be distinguished from it by a hump on the thorax and a single pubescence (bread beetle: double pubescence consisting of adjacent and protruding hairs). The name “deathwatch” comes from the behavior of the beetles, which serves to attract sexual partners during the mating season. Their head striking the substrate causes a knocking sound.
The larvae, which are up to 7 mm long, bore into coniferous and deciduous wood (usually in the sapwood) and also feed or pupate in the circular bore holes. They overwinter as larvae in the wood.
After hatching, the beetles, which are very capable of flight, bore outwards and leave behind characteristic round exit holes with a diameter of 1 to 2 mm Drilling dust is ejected through these exit holes, which makes it easy to recognize a woodworm infestation. The total development period of the nail beetle is two to three years and depends on the moisture content of the wood. Wood in damp rooms (room humidity > 55 %) or wood that is often cleaned damp can be heavily infested.
Damage:
The common nail beetle is an extremely harmful destroyer of all native coniferous and deciduous wood species and is mainly found on furniture, wood carvings, wood paneling, floorboards, etc.. The damage is caused by the feeding galleries of the larvae inside the wood and by the exit holes of the adult beetles. The beetles themselves do not feed. As this wood pest requires a relatively high level of humidity, infestations occur more frequently in first floor rooms or cellars than in attics.
The beetle is occasionally confused with the very similar-looking bread beetle(Stegobium paniceum), which is, however, a storage pest. An exact identification of the animals by a specialist is therefore urgently required!
