Rudy Mancke discusses metallic wood-boring beetles and their larvae known as flat-headed wood-borers.
Transcript (edited for clarity):
RUDY MANCKE:
Hi, this is Rudy Mancke from USC for NatureNotes.
Jacob saw a shiny looking insect on the side of his house and wondered if he needed to worry about it, and sent me a picture. It was one of the metallic wood-borer beetles. Real shiny body, dark background with yellow streaking on it.
And this thing produces a larva that has a really flat head, so they're referred to as the flat-head borer larvae. Usually these things attack dead or dying trees. A lot of people now think that as a tree is dying, it's releasing pheromones that draw these beetles to the trees, and then the beetles have an opportunity to find a food source.
