HOW IT KILLS: STAGES 1-2
The beetle spends most of its life deep inside a tree, beyond the reach of insecticides and would-be predators. The bug eats its way through the wood, disrupting the tree's nutrient system and leaving it vulnerable to rot and pests. Given enough beetles, the tunnels alone can kill a tree

1. A female gnaws a half-inch divot in the bark, lays a single egg there and covers it with a gluelike secretion. Each female can produce dozens of eggs

2. After 10 to 15 days, the egg hatches into a larva, which starts to consume the outer layers of wood as it matures. After several months, the growing larva begins tunneling deep into the tree

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