Saproxylic(adjective): relating to or causing the decay of wood. It can also describe organisms that live rely on or live in dead wood. A great example of a saproxylic insect is the carpenter ant. These marvelous creatures chew tunnels and chambers in wood as a sheltered place to raise young. Many beetles and fungi are saproxylic. There are also many saproxylic bees that use tunnels in dead wood for their nesting sites.
Photo by Katja Schulz, some rights reserved (CC-BY)
