The wood boring beetle Platypus cylindrus infests and breeds in cut trees, windblown trees, standing dead and dying trees.
In Britain it used to be regarded as a rare beetle associated principally with old ‘veteran’ oak trees, but it quickly took advantage of an abundance of breeding material and favourable conditions following the gales of 1987 and populations grew rapidly in the south and south-east. Beetle numbers have never returned to pre-hurricane levels, possibly a consequence of a continuing supply of breeding material in the form of weakened oaks suffering from oak decline/dieback.
Dieback of Pedunculate Oak (PDF-5.7Mb)
Forestry Commission Information Note 22
Management
Platypus is an important problem both at the felling site and in the timber yard. It is strongly attracted not only to oak logs, but also to a number of other important timber species and, in a successful attack, will bore into heartwood and reduce timber value. Once Platypus is established in timber, early conversion to accelerate the drying process, perhaps combined with kiln drying, is the only option to prevent further activity.
Once beetles have tunnelled into logs they cannot be controlled successfully with insecticide. Although chemical treatment of uninfested logs, used with careful timing, can deter the entry of beetles, a more desirable and environmentally friendly means of protecting logs is by managing the harvesting operation in relation to the biology of the beetle.
There is no way of preventing the entry of Platypus into oaks in poor health nor of predicting at what point a tree in decline is likely to become infested, so logs and timber from salvaged trees should always be regarded as a potential source of beetles.
Further information
The life history of Platypus cylindrus and options for its management, both at the felling site and in the timber yard, are described in the following Tree Pest Advisory Note:
Oak Pinhole Borer (PDF-399K)
Revised: May 2009.
Alternatively contact:Christine Tilbury
Forest Research
Alice Holt Lodge
Farnham
Surrey GU10 4LH
Tel: 01420 22255
Fax: 01420 23653
Email: christine.tilbury@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
See also: related Forestry Commission plant health information
