Series editors' preface - Wood Tools

(a)
(b)
Figure 7.6 The common furniture beetle, Anobium
punctatum seen from above (a) and from the side,
emerging from a flight hole (b) (© Crown Copyright)
Establishment, 1977. Heartwood is not
immune, especially if any fungal decay is
present. Hardwoods including beech, birch,
elm, oak, walnut, lime and birch are
commonly found to have been attacked and
few if any of the traditional temperate
hardwoods are immune but some tropical
hardwoods do seem to be (Farmer, 1972).
Frequently only the sapwood is attacked.
Furniture beetle often attack hidden rails of
upholstered furniture. Plywoods made from
glues of natural origin (e.g. blood, casein, or
soya) are particularly susceptible to attack,
since they provide a rich source of protein,
but damage in plywoods prepared with
synthetic adhesives seems to be rare.
Signs of attack include the presence of
tunnels, containing bore-dust (frass), within
the wood and circular flight (exit) holes on the
surface. Fresh light coloured frass and clean
holes with sharp edges are signs of active
workings, though the larval stage may last up
to 5 years before adults emerge. Different
species of insect produce frass of characteris-
Deterioration of wood and wooden structures 297
(a)
(b)
(c)
Figure 7.7 Examples of frass: the faecal pellets of (a)
the common furniture beetle (Anobium punctatum) are
cigar-shaped and approximately 0.5 mm long; those of
(b) the death watch beetle (Xestobium rufovillosum) are
bun-shaped; those of (c) the house longhorn beetle
(Hyloptrupes bajulus) are sausage-shaped with flat ends
(© Crown Copyright)
tically different sizes and shapes (Figure 7.7).
In some cases, it can be difficult to properly
assess whether an object is currently infested,