Hylotrupes

This species, originating in Europe, and having been spread in timber and wood products, now has a practically cosmopolitan distribution, including Southern Africa, Asia, the Americas, Australia, and much of Europe and the Mediterranean. ==Description==

Hylotrupes bajulus can reach a body length of about , while mature larvae can reach . These beetles are brown to black, appearing grey because of a fine grey furriness on most of the upper surface. On the pronotum two conspicuously hairless tubercles are characteristic of the species. On the elytra usually there are two whitish pubescent spots. Females do not have a real ovipositor, only a little more elongated telson. The species can be defined polymorphic, having an extreme variability, both in the dimensions and in the aspect. In small specimens the pubescent spots on the elytra disappear almost completely and the legs and antennae turn to a reddish color. ==Biology==

Adults are most active in the summer (June–September). Ecologically it can be quite important as a scavenger of dead pine trees, pine fence posts, and similar objects, hastening their decay and collapse. The life cycle from egg to beetle typically takes two to ten years, Hylotrupes bajulus preferentially attacks freshly produced sapwood of softwood timber. Contrary to the name "old-house borer", the species is more often found in new houses; maybe because the beetles are attracted to the higher resin content of wood harvested more recently than 10 years earlier. If old wood is attacked, the damage is usually greater. As the nutrient content of wood decreases with age, the larvae have to consume larger amounts of wood. In Australia, the infection of home construction is mainly caused by the use of wood already infected with the eggs or larvae of the beetles if the wood is not properly kiln-dried in production. ==Gallery==

File:Hylotrupes bajulus (huisboktor) (4).jpg|Larva File: 130312 Tesarik krovovy Hylotrupes bajulus (1).JPG|Larvae exposed in infested wood File:Hylotrupes bajulus side2.jpg|Adult – side view File:Hylotrupes bajulus front.jpg|Adult– front view ==References==