Platypodid beetles belong to the family Platypodidae, Platypus spp.

The family Platypodidae includes over 1,400 species, most of which are found in the tropics only, with about seven species found in the United States. Four of which occur in Florida. All species can kill trees and may cause economic damage to unmilled logs or standing dead timber.

The Platypodidae beetles are closely related to the Scolytidae beetles. The differences are in shorter abdomen, elongated body form and elongated first tarsal segment which is longer than the remaining segments combined.

All species are Platypodid ambrosia beetles breed in large diameter host material (tree trunks, large branches, etc.). Galleries are initiated by males, which are then joined by a single female. The pheromones are produced and large numbers of simultaneous attacks are frequently observed on the same host.

Mated pairs of beetles burrow into the heartwood and release ectosymbiotic fungi into their tunnels upon which they and their brood feed. For the most part the wood is not actually consumed by the beetles. Larvae move freely inside the excavated galleries and hollow out individual pupal cells off the main galleries. Adults emerge through the original entry hole.

Platypodids can only breed in undegraded, recently killed host material, with a high moisture content. Decaying wood or wood which has dried out is unsuitable. Normally, only a single generation can be produced in a given host. Platypus compositus and Platypus parallelus are extremely polyphagous are attracted to light and will breed in most trees within their ranges. Platypus flavicornis and Platypus quadridentatus are restricted to pines and oaks only.