Lyctus africanus (Lesne) is the commonest species widely distributed by trade throughout India. It is one of the most important insect pest attacking logs, branchwood and and practically every kind of manufactured wooden article that contains sapwood. Presently, in India many short rotation and alternate timbers are being used for making many finished products .The inclusion of sapwood containing starch makes these products very susceptible to insect borer attack. Consequently, many wood preservative companies are coming out with many formulations to combat powder post beetle attack. Currently there exists no Indian standard to test these wood preservatives against the powder post beetle infestation. Since the testing using adult beetle releasing increases the testing period it is not much appreciated. As insect borer larval activity is visible to judge the progress of the test and also as it reduces the test period, a modified method to determine the toxic value of the chemicals against Lyctus africanus-Lesne by larval transfer method has been standardized based on the European standard EN21.

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