Eggs are laid on the surface of wood by or just inside exit holes.
Larvae live inside wood that has been infested by wood boring insects, where they feed on the larvae of these wood-damaging insects.
Adult: After emergence they mate, lay eggs and then die.
Habits
Predator of common furniture beetle and death watch beetle – so its presence indicates a heavy infestation of either wood-boring insect.
It is the rarely seen larvae which consumes the larvae of the wood-boring pests in their tunnels. The steely blue beetle is not capable of damaging wood.