Wharf borer
The wharf borer is a slim yellow to reddish orange beetle with a black tip at the end of its wing cases. Its larvae live inside damp, rotting wood, like the old wooden posts of harbours. That is how it got its name.
How big is it?
How long is it?
How big is Wharf borer compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
People sometimes see many of them coming up from under a floor and think they are cockroaches.
It takes about a year to grow from an egg to a beetle.
Its larva can live inside wood for 2 months or up to 2 years.
After the Second World War there were many more of them in London, because lots of wood was buried in the ground after bombs fell.
Its feelers are half as long as its body.
Most asked questions about Wharf borer
?Is the wharf borer a cockroach?
No. It is a beetle. You can tell it by the black tips on its wing cases.
?Is the wharf borer harmful?
It is harmless to people, but its larvae damage damp wood in buildings and harbours.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Nacerdes melanura
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Oedemeridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Oedemeridae
- Lives on
- North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Oceania
Where the facts come from
- Wharf borer (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Alvesgaspar. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip
Stag beetle
Hercules beetle
Common glow-worm
Goliath beetle
Cockchafer
Mealworm beetle
Pale cellar spider
Clover hayworm moth
Silky sugar ant
Little yellow ant
Hawaiian carpenter ant
Long-bellied cyclosa spider