Anobiid and cerambycid beetles lay eggs in crevices on the surface of the wood; cerambycids also lay eggs in emergence holes.
Bostrichid beetles that bore into seasoned hardwoods often bore chambers at the sides of their tunnels and lay eggs in them.
Unseasoned hardwoods.—Bostrichids that infest green and seasoning hardwoods lay eggs in pores leading from the entrance tunnels. The red-shouldered shothole borer is one of these. Bostrichids frequently attack bark-covered wood. They usually do not reinfest the wood from which they emerge.
Infestations in Softwoods
Seasoned softwoods.—Some kinds of beetles infest seasoned softwood lumber used in the structure of buildings.
Certain of the bostrichids require bark for egg laying. They infest lumber that has bark on the edges. Such lumber is often used in framing, subflooring, and roofing. The females lay eggs in the bark. The larvae of some species complete their development in it; others go to the adjacent wood to do so. The adult females may reinfest the wood from which they emerge.
Other beetles that infest seasoned softwoods do not require bark for egg laying. Among them are the old house borer and the cossonid weevils. The females lay eggs in crevices in the wood. They may infest the same wood repeatedly.
The old house borer infests framing and subflooring. It is found in old and new construction and in stored lumber. Cossonid weevils are found in pine flooring, baseboards, wall stops, and roof trusses.
Unseasoned softwoods.—The beetles that infest green and seasoning softwoods include several cerambycids—for example, the black-horned pine borer—and a few bostrichids. Most of these beetles require bark for egg laying. The adult females usually do not reinfest the wood from which they emerge; they seek other unseasoned wood and lay eggs in the bark.
