Stowaway insects, any idea what it is?

[duncan_m]

Didn't expect to be asking a question again so soon. More fool me.

After having prepared thoroughly for what I assumed would be a 'routine boat job' repairing some damp wood in the heads I came across some uninvited guests.

There were about 10 in the small section I pulled off. One of them kindly sat very still for the attached photo.

The ruler is showing mm so it's just under 2mm or 1/16 of an inch.

Don't suppose anyone knows what it might be?

[Cheechako]

Is that a bed bug? Not sure.

[atoll]

looks like some type of termite

[Dsanduril]

Second the termite. They usually don't have much color, but the body sure looks like one.

Is the "sandy" stuff in the photo from the wood area where the bug came from? Termite frass looks a bit like small sand and is a great identifier.

[JoeRobertJr]

My vote would be for bed bug over termite.
https://www.wikihow.life/Recognize-Bed-Bugs
https://www.wikihow.com/Identify-a-Termite

[mabowers]

No insect expert, but the head sure looks like a worker termite.

[Dsanduril]

Here's a pretty good photo of bedbugs, could be second/third stage nymph:

[Steve Bean]

Doesn't look much like the termites I'm familiar with. Are there galleries (tunnels) in wood in the area? Any frass (termite droppings, like tiny tan-colored pellets) ?

[atoll]

it might be useful to know where the boat is based to identify the species,aussi termites don-t look anything like their european or american relatives

[duncan_m]

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

Is the "sandy" stuff in the photo from the wood area where the bug came from? Termite frass looks a bit like small sand and is a great identifier.

Sandy stuff is general debris from the broken up wood and possibly from another boat job I was doing earlier.

My current thinking from research is/was that it's just a general small beetle.

Head definitely looks like a termite but the abdomen is basically spherical and the hind legs are very short vs. your average termite...

[duncan_m]

Originally Posted by atoll

it might be useful to know where the boat is based to identify the species,aussi termites don-t look anything like their european or american relatives

Great shout. The boat is in the Netherlands and has mainly been in the UK over the last 2 years.

[atoll]

looks a lot like this guy
https://www.pctonline.com/article/te...-weaken-trees/

[gamayun]

I think it's a bed bug, too, but look up bed bug lookalikes. It kinda looks like a book louse.

[duncan_m]

Alrighty, I have a positive ID on the bug from a pest controller in London.

Apparently it's a book lice which like damp places. This tallies with the heads as I was pulling out some rotten wood that the shower had been leaking into.

Perhaps this family: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trogiidae

Thanks for all of the help!

[JoeRobertJr]

Looks like gayaman wins the prize. Thanks for letting us know the results.