Golden Buprestid Beetles are an iridescent, shiny greenish colour about 1.3 cm (1/2 inch) long. They produce 0.6 cm (1/4 inch) oval
holes in the wood when they emerge. There is often fine "sawdust"
which falls from the hole.
In nature, the female lays eggs on fallen trees, and the
hatching young burrow into the wood where they create feeding tunnels. After
a year or two they pupate. The resulting adult chews an oval hole through
the surface of the wood to escape and fly away.
Emergent holes are usually noticed in log structures and can
also be a problem in wood frame houses. These holes may be formed up to 55
years after the tree has been cut down or after the wood has been milled.
Holes are found in an infested piece of wood, while the uninfested piece of
wood right next to it has no damage. For instance, one piece of wood in a
window frame may have emergent holes. Also, emergent holes may occur in
drywall, in a line which corresponds to a wall stud.
1. The adults will only lay eggs on freshly killed trees
with bark. Logs are attacked beginning in April.
2. Older wood, dry wood and seasoned wood will not be
attacked.
3. The emerged adults do not re-infest houses, therefore the
wood in your home will not be attacked from either the inside or outside.
4. The damaging larvae will travel a long distance. They
normally remain in the same log or piece of wood but can travel to a
neighboring piece if it is in close contact.
5. There are no suitable controls in a home situation.
Control
The control method is to prevent the females from laying
eggs on the logs. Once the larvae are in the logs basically you can only
wait for them to emerge.
Emergent holes can be filled for cosmetic reasons.
Applying wood preserver or other materials will not prevent
re-infestation because the adults are only attacking freshly killed trees.
Applied insecticides and wood preservers will not penetrate
the wood very deeply and will not kill protected larvae.
Where possible, remove the infested piece of wood and
replace with kiln dried wood.
