Pinhole Borers in Green Timber

SUMMARY

A short account is given of the world wide problem of pinhole borers and the situation in Victoria is described. Only green timber is susceptible and both sapwood and heartwood are deeply penetrated by gallery systems. Platypodid and Scolytid pinhole borers are always, and Lymexylids may be, symbiotically associated with nutritive ‘ambrosia’ fungi. These permanently stain the wood along galleries and can reduce timber strength.

Most economic loss occurs in tropical forests. In these, felled timber is usually attacked, in contrast to Australian forests where degrade occurs most frequently in living trees. Substantial pinhole borer damage in some Victorian temperate forests, notably in east Gippsland, can significantly reduce the value and quantity of sawn produce. The pinhole borer problem is seen largely as a matter of preventing timber degrade in forests, as seasoned timber is immune from attack.