Bostrichid beetles belong to the family Bostrichidae. These beetles are known as the False Powderpost Beetles. They are found throughout  the entire United States.

They are small to large beetles. Their colors range from brown, reddish brown, to black. The bodies are elongated and cylindrical with a roughened thorax. Unlike the lyctids, in most bostrichid species the head is concealed by the pronotum from above that gives the beetle a humpbacked appearance. The thorax is noticeably roughened in most species; the antennae are short with 3 or 4 enlarged sawtoothed terminal segments, compared with 2 for the lyctids. The first abdominal segment of bostrichids is equal in length to each of the others, whereas in the lyctids it is longer than the others. The tibiae have distinct spurs. The larva is white, "C" shaped with no spines on body.

Bostrichid beetles usually attack the sapwood of seasoned hardwoods; especially unfinished floors, window sills, furniture, etc. However, some species attack and breed in both hardwoods and softwoods. Bamboo items are especially susceptible to attack by some species of Bostrichid beetles. They are common in dead branches and dying saplings.

The Lyctidae and Anobiidae do not contain large-sized species, whereas the bostrichids have a considerable number of them. The most striking example is the palm borer, Dinapate wrightlii Horn, that is 4 to 5.5 cm long and infests native fan palms in California deserts and Baja California.

The bostrichids differ from the other 2 families mentioned in that the adult females bore into the wood, preparing "egg tunnels" instead of depositing (ovipositing) them in surface cracks or pores. The female oviposits in pores leading from the tunnels. The larvae also bore tunnels. Thus, the bostrichids' tunnels vary greatly in size and shape. Like the lyctids, bostrichids can continue to breed in a piece of wood as long as it affords adequate sustenance.

The bostrichids are most abundant in the tropics, and are not so important as the lyctids and anobiids in temperate regions. Several species mine dead, seasoned, or cured hardwoods or hardwood furniture. Some species of Amphicerus and Polycaon burrow into the small twigs of living fruit trees, usually at the crotch or bud axil, but are usually not abundant enough to cause serious damage.