There are several types of bookworm or insects which eat through books. Actual book-borers are uncommon. Both the larvae of the death watch beetle(Xestobium rufovillosum) and the common furniture beetle (Anobium punctatum) will tunnel through wood and paper if it is nearby the wood. A major book-feeding insect is the booklouse (or book louse). A tiny (under 1 mm), soft-bodied wingless psocoptera (usually Trogium pulsatorium), that actually feeds on moulds (molds) and other organic matter found in ill-maintained works, although they will also attack bindings and other parts. It is not actually a true louse. Many other insects, like thesilerfish (Lepisma saccharina) or cockroach (various Blattodea), will consume these molds and also degraded paper or the starch-based binding pastes - warmth and moisture or high humidity are prerequisites, so damage is more common in the tropics. Modern glues and paper are less attractive to insects.
Copyright © 2026 eLLeNow.com All Rights Reserved.