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Color black, surface dull with short pale hairs; antennae with outer segments gradually abbreviated, last 4 segments nearly as long as the preceding segments together; pronotum usually rounded on the sides. Posterior tarsi with third segment cleft for about half its length, the apex of small fourth segment about even with apices of lobes; ocular setae absent or inconspicuous. Form, slender, elongate; pronotum not or little wider than long; gula finely rugulose, not distinctly punctuate, gula not bearded. Little sexual dimorphism; females more robust with antennae attaining nearly the middle of the elytra; females 15-25mm, males 12-23mm. Larvae yellowish white, about 40mm full grown; similar to Asemum striatum but have coarser pronotal asperities and numerous glabrous spots. A slender species, A. productus seems to be most easily distinguished from other species by the narrow pronotum with a longitudinal groove running between the pronotal pits, unabbreviated antennae and cribately punctured elytra (Linsley 1962).

Females oviposit at the base of recently dead or dying trees in deep crevices of the bark, often immediately following fire or bark beetle attacks. They are sap and heartwood borers. Larvae feed beneath the bark for a short time to pass the winter in the larval stage, pupation occurring in the early summer. The life cycle from egg to adult generally takes at least two years (Linsley 1962; Ebeling 2002). Common in the U.S. as a house pest. Will not generally cause structural damage. However, the exit holes of the emerging adults can cause extensive cosmetic damage. A. productus is known to chew exit holes through almost any material. Because females are limited to infesting untreated wood (hard and soft), they will not revisit the same wood for oviposition after emergence, and thus are not considered a major pest. Generally, control is never necessary after infestation as they pose no threat after emergence and control steps before construction are as simple as not using infested wood through standard radiographic techniques (Ebeling 2002).