Biological activates and effect of some treatments on the infestation with wooden furniture beetle Lyctus brunneus (Coleoptera: Lyctidae) in Egypt

Abstract

Powder post beetle, Lyctus brunneus Stephens (Coleoptera: Lyctidae) attacks the sapwood of certain hardwoods, either raw or working  wood, of many wooden hosts, under suitable conditions of infestation causing destructive and reducing the infested wood to fine powder  .The means of different oviposition periods were 2.4, 10.6 and 2.8 days for pre-oviposition, oviposition, and post-oviposition  periods, respectively. The mean number of laid eggs/ females was about 21.4 eggs, the mean incubation period was 14.4 days. The larval  stage duration ranged from 142 to 208 days according to different factors which govern brood growth (Such as the size of wood pores,  starch and moisture contents, temperature, and relative humidity). The duration of the pupal stage ranged from 11-29 days, while the  adult longevity ranged 10-22 days. The total life cycle of L. brunneus beetle rearing on an artificial diet varied from 170 to 280 days under  laboratory conditions, ranging from 18-34 °C and 59-76% RH. The total duration for means of the different developmental stages was  218.5 days (About 7.28 months). The results showed a highly significant correlation between both starch and moisture contents and each  number of emerged beetles and adult longevity on different wood species. The surface treatment of wood with Polyurethane Varnish,  Nitrocellulose Sealer, Nitrocellulose Sealer and Alkyd Varnish, Saniton, Saniton and Wood putty, Oil paint (lacquer), and insecticide gave  protection to intact wood from infestation, while these materials no prevent the beetle’s emergence from infested wood except the  insecticide with kerosene.