The food diversity that we can find among insects is very wide. Insects are a group within the phylum of arthropods that are characterized by having three pairs of legs, one pair of legs and two pairs of wings. It's a really large group with almost a million different species
Being such a heterogeneous group, we can find carnivorous, frugivorous, nectivorous, omnivorous, necrophagous animals, etc., but in this ExperoAnimal article we will focus on the insects that eat wood, we will talk about xylophagy and we will present a list of insects that eat wood.
What is xylophagia?
Animals that feed on wood are called " xylophagous ". Not all animals that feed on wood do so exclusively, but also take other parts of plants. Insects that feed exclusively on wood must have a specific type of microbiota in their digestive tracts to help them digest cellulose, as occurs, for example, with herbivorous mammals.
Why do these insects eat wood?
Digestion of plant products is very complex, as breaking down cellulose requires a symbiotic relationship with intestinal bacteria and external fungi. Insects that feed on wood have a special microbiota, prepared to extract carbon from wood
The digestion of wood produces high amounts of acetate that would cause damage to these animals. According to some studies, this acetate is never found in feces. Instead, it is transformed into carbon dioxide and released into the hemolymph, to later be expelled through respiration.
Names of insects that eat wood
Do you want to know the names of insects that eat wood? Below we show you the main ones and their characteristics. Continue reading!
1. Wood wasps
The Woodwasps are a group of insects belonging to the Siricidae family. There are about 150 different species of wasps, but they all have one thing in common: their larvae eat wood.
The females of these species lay their eggs in small cracks or holes in the wood of trees. When the eggs hatch, the larvae devour the wood while creating tunnels to move. For digestion to take place, they need the presence of a fungus with which they establish a symbiotic relationship.
two. Wood Termites
The termites are insects belonging to the order Blattodea. Although their appearance and way of life, in termite mounds, remind us of ants, these animals are related to cockroaches There are more than 3,000 different species in the world of ends.
These animals are highly feared by humans, since they colonize the wooden structures of human buildings, destroying them completely if a good pest eradication project is not carried out. Some species of termites live in damp wood, others in dry wood and others on the ground, building colossal termite mounds, they come out of the ground in search of their favorite food, wood.
3. Wood beetles or woodworm
There are several families of beetles or beetles that can feed on wood, but what we know as " woodworm", are the beetles belonging to to the family Anobiidae. Woodworm is detected because small shallow holes appear in furniture, sculptures, etc. These holes are made by the adult woodworm when it comes out. The females lay their eggs in crevices. These, when they hatch, devour the interior of the wood, carrying out their different metamorphoses and end up coming out as a new adult individual.
4. Wood Moths
Wood moths are a family of night butterflies called Cossidae. The adults of this species do not feed on anything at all, their trunks are atrophied and their only function is reproduction. Its larvae, which are large, feed on old and damp wood They remain hidden under the tree bark throughout its juvenile period, which can sometimes be more than three years.
Examples of insects that eat wood
Now you know what types of animals eat wood, but you may be interested in knowing more about some specific species. To do this, we show you some of the best known with their scientific name:
- Elderberry Cossus Cossus (Cossus cossus)
- Heterocoma albida
- Death watch beetle (Xestobium rufovillosum)
- Large woodworm (Hylotrupes bajulus)
- African savannah termite (Macrotermes natalensis)
- Compass termite (Amitermes meridionalis)
- Tree Termite (Nasutitermes)
- Wood wasp (Xeris spectrum)
- Canary Termite (Kalotermes Dispar)
- Drywood termites (Kalotermes flavicollis and Cryptotermes brevis)
- Parquet woodworm (Lyctus brunneus)