In March 2025, The Ohio State University’s Butler County Extension office received infested furniture from a county resident. The furniture, purchased from a store that sells surplus online products, contained holes apparently made by a burrowing insect. Concerned that it might involve an exotic species, county extension personnel contacted the C. Wayne Ellette Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic (CWE-PPDC).
They were instructed to double-bag the contents and seal the box before shipping it to the diagnostic clinic. Upon receiving the furniture, I observed a few holes, but no other visible damage was apparent on the surface.
I removed the paint using a knife to see what the wood type was, and it turned out this furniture was made of bamboo. The coating the manufacturer used to paint the furniture was very thick. Bamboo furniture is very popular and common such that anyone can purchase it from retail stores in the United States or online. These items are often made overseas. The image on the right shows the damaged part of the furniture with exit holes.
Six dead beetles were extracted from the galleries inside one of the pieces of furniture before moving the furniture into a -22°C freezer to kill any live insects.
Although the furniture appears fine except for a few holes, the underside of the paint has been completely reduced to powder by the insect activity. The image on the right shows a dead adult beetle inside one of the galleries. Very thick coat of paint, which restricted some of the beetles from escaping, as all the beetles I extracted were dead.
After keeping the furniture at -22°C for one week, I carefully inspected all the pieces before discarding them. Two more beetles were found in the same damaged piece.
Identification and taxonomy.
The beetles were identified as bamboo powderpost beetle, Dinoderus minutus (Fabricius, 1775), which is native to Asia. The genus Dinoderus belongs to the family Bostrichidae, commonly known as horned powder-post beetles.
Dinoderus minutus - worldwide distribution. Map © cabidigitallibrary.org
The 26 species described in this genus are distributed mostly in southeast Asia. The genus Dinoderus has been divided into two subgenera: Dinoderus and Dinoderastes. Dinoderus japonicus is the only intercepted species in the United States that is in the subgenus Dinoderastes. All other species fall under subgenus Dinoderus.
Numerous species of Dinoderus are pests of raw materials. Some species in this genus, namely D. japonicus, D. minutus, D. ocellaris, and D. brevis are major pests of bamboo, attacking both harvested culms (stems) and finished products (Borowski & Wegrzynowicz, 2011).
According to Beiriger & Sites (1996), three species (D. japonicus, D. minutus, and D. brevis) have been intercepted in the United States numerous times, especially with furniture made from bamboo. Due to their presence in warehouses and difficulty of eradication, Spilman (1982) suggested that D. minutus (Distribution-California, Washington DC, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio), D. bifoveolatus (Distribution-Texas), and D. japonicus (Distribution-Georgia, California) should be recorded as being established in North America.
Dinoderus minutus are 2.5 – 3.5 mm in length. According to Beiriger & Sites (1996), and Spilman (1982), the beetle can be differentiated from other species of Dinoderus intercepted in the United States by the presence of two ‘distinct’ depressions on the pronotum, the short dense erect setae covering the elytra, and the 1st fore-tarsal segment being subequal to either the 3rd or 4th fore-tarsal segment.
Damage caused by D. minutus
Infestation of D. minutus can begin when adult beetles enter bamboo culms (stems) and oviposit during the harvesting and manufacturing process. Bamboo is an ideal food source for this pest due to its rich starch content. The borer is drawn to freshly cut bamboo, where they enter the culms for oviposition and then seal the entry point with wood powder. The larvae can remain undetected inside the harvested product.
Infested bamboo wood can be reduced to dust in a very short time due to their relatively short generations, causing significant economic losses and rendering the material impractical for use. It is unclear whether the immature stages of D. minutus can survive on dry bamboo; however, Nirosham et al. (2015) observed that the highest oviposition by female beetles on bamboo occurred at 15% moisture, and the eggs successfully hatched and pupated. The adult lifespan was similar in bamboo with 15% and 30% moisture, but no larvae developed into pupae at 30% moisture. The outcome of oviposition in bamboo with moisture content below 12% remains unclear.
In addition, D. minutus have been reported damaging dried stored products of rice (Oryza sativa), cassava (Manihot esculenta), and sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), and this species also has been detected in the wood of Pinus spp. Click here to find more.
Watanabe (2018) and Garcia (2005) reported the successful rearing of larvae in tapioca flour (Manihot esculenta), whole wheat, buck wheat, and wheat flour (Triticum spp.), corn (Zea mays), and tubers of cassava for laboratory studies. Other than attacking bamboo, adult D. minutus have been found infesting non-woody materials such as stored grains and roof thatching in Japan (Watanabe (2018)).
This beetle can complete a generation in two months when there is an abundant food source and can easily complete three generations in temperate countries.
Due to the worldwide movement of bamboo products and the difficulty in enforcing quarantine measures, D. minutus has had numerous interceptions at entry ports and even beyond port areas in Connecticut and Florida nurseries. Therefore, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) classifies D. minutus as ‘non-quarantine’ for the continental United States (personal communication with USDA).
How you can help
One way to help reduce the spread of this species and similar wood borers is to carefully inspect bamboo and other wood products when purchasing them from retail stores or online. If you suspect the product is infested, contact the USDA or the Department of Agriculture (DOA) in your state to report the finding. Be sure to destroy the product before disposing of it in the trash upon their advice.
Also, Ohio residents can contact The Ohio State University Diagnostic Clinic (CWE-PPDC), by clicking the link here.
Alternatively, you can use an off-the-shelf residual insecticide and apply it to the entry points or galleries and other areas of the furniture.
Fumigation is ideal, but this process is expensive and often toxic to humans and animals. Always contact an experienced pest control professional to do this job.
Freezing the product for about a week in a regular freezer is another option to kill any living insects and their life stages.
Check this “AskUSDA“ for requirements for importing bamboo products to the United States.
Always consider insecticides as a last resort. They are toxic to humans, other animals, and to the environment when exposed. Use proper precautions when you apply them and always follow the label instructions.
References
Beiriger, R. L., & Sites, R. W. (1996). The Bostrichidae (Coleoptera) of Missouri. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, 69(1), 45–68. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25085647
Borowski, J., & Węgrzynowicz, P. (2011). New Bostrichid Beetles to the Taiwanese Fauna, with a Key for Identification of the Genus Dinoderus of Taiwan. Elytra, New Series, 1(1), 93-96. https://coleoptera.sakura.ne.jp/ElytraNS/ElytraNS01(01)093.pdf
CABI digital library - https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.19035#sec-21
Garcia, C. M. (2005). Management of powder-post beetles, Dinoderus minutus F. in freshly cut bamboo. Oregon State University.
Nardi, Gianluca & Badano, Davide & De Cinti, Bruno. (2015). First record of Dinoderus (Dinoderastes) japonicus in Italy (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae). Fragmenta Entomologica. 47. 147. 10.4081/fe.2015.143. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289494572_First_record_of_Dinoderus_Dinoderastes_japonicus_in_Italy_Coleoptera_Bostrichidae
Norhisham, A., Faizah, A., & Zaidon, A. (2015). EFFECTS OF MOISTURE CONTENT ON THE BAMBOO BORER DINODERUS MINUTUS. Journal of Tropical Forest Science, 27(3), 334–341. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43490291
Spilman, T. J. (1982). False Powderpost Beetles of the Genus Dinoderus in North America (Coleoptera, Bostrichidae). The Coleopterists Bulletin, 36(2), 193–196. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4008051
Watanabe, H. (2018). Nondestructive evaluation of larval development and feeding behavior of the bamboo powderpost beetle Dinoderus minutus in bamboo culms. https://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2433/232341/2/dnogk02266.pdf
Watanabe, H., Yanase, Y. & Fujii. 2017. Y. Nondestructive evaluation of egg-to-adult development and feeding behavior of the bamboo powderpost beetle Dinoderus minutus using X-ray computed tomography. J Wood Sci 63, 506–513 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10086-017-1642-3