Lymexylonidae (timberworm beetles)

The timber­worm beetles (Lyme­xylonidae) are a small family comprising 70 species worldwide, thereof only two recorded in Germany. They are medium-sized, of elongated cylindrical body shape and gaping elytra. They exhibit a conspicuous sexual dimorphism: The males bear large, pectinate maxillar palps. The larvae develop in living or freshly chopped wood and can cause severe technical damage. Among the larvae different feeding strategies have evolved: Some feed on wood directly, others build gardens of symbiotic fungi to extract nutrients from wood.