The life-cycle of the furniture beetle
Furniture beetles (Anobium punctatum) are tiny insects, just 6 mm (¼ in) long, which fly into houses from the outside.
Adult females will lay 60 or so eggs in cracks, crevices and corners of wood. They prefer softwood and plywood that has not been painted, varnished, polished or treated – so typically go for the backs of pieces of furniture and drawers, and exposed timber under staircases and floorboards, and in the roof, especially if the wood is not bone dry. They also have a taste for wickerwork.
The eggs hatch and the larvae bore into the wood, where they will stay for between one and five years before pupating. The pupae then turn into adult beetles, which bore through to the surface to begin the whole process all over again.
