A to Z of Pests

Steely Blue Beetle

Korynetes caeruleus

Appearance

• Adult – 4mm. Shiny blue colour.

Lifecycle

• Eggs are laid on the surface of wood by or just inside exit holes.
• Larvae live inside wood that has been infested by wood boring insects, where they feed on the larvae of these wood-damaging insects.
• Adult: After emergence they mate, lay eggs and then die.

Habits

• Predator of common furniture beetle and death watch beetle – so its presence indicates a heavy infestation of either wood-boring insect.
• It is the rarely seen larvae which consumes the larvae of the wood-boring pests in their tunnels. The steely blue beetle is not capable of damaging wood.