Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than 6 mm in length, and herbivorous. About 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, with most of them in the family Curculionidae. Some other beetles, although not closely related, bear the name "weevil", such as the biscuit weevil, which belongs to the family Ptinidae.
The scarlet lily beetle, red lily beetle, or lily leaf beetle, is a leaf beetle that eats the leaves, stem, buds, and flowers, of lilies, fritillaries and other members of the family Liliaceae. It lays its eggs most often on Lilium and Fritillaria species. In the absence of Lilium and Fritillaria species, there are fewer eggs laid and the survival rate of eggs and larvae is reduced. It is now a pest in most temperate climates where lilies are cultivated.
The khapra beetle, also called cabinet beetle, which originated in South Asia, is one of the world's most destructive pests of grain products and seeds. It is considered one of the 100 worst invasive species in the world. Infestations are difficult to control because of the insect's ability to survive without food for long periods, its preference for dry conditions and low-moisture food, and its resistance to many insecticides. There is a federal quarantine restricting the importation of rice into the U.S. from countries with known infestations of the beetle. Khapra beetle infestation can spoil otherwise valuable trade goods and threaten significant economic losses if introduced to a new area. Handling or consuming contaminated grain and seed products can lead to health issues such as skin irritation and gastrointestinal distress.
Diaprepes abbreviatus is a species of weevil that is native to the Caribbean, where in Spanish it is colloquially called chichí. It is an agricultural pest in several Caribbean countries. In 1964 this weevil was accidentally introduced in the US, state of Florida, where it is at present a major pest of citrus. It was first discovered in southern California in 2005, where it is a pest of citrus, avocado, and nursery stock. It is also known to infest sugarcane, tuber-bearing crops such as potatoes, and ornamental plants. Common names for the insect include diaprepes root weevil, citrus root weevil and sugarcane rootstock borer weevil.
The Attelabidae is a widespread family of weevils. They are among the primitive weevils, because of their straight antennae, which are inserted near the base of the rostrum. The prothorax is much narrower than the base of the elytra on the abdomen. Attelabidae and the related family Rhynchitidae are known commonly as the leaf-rolling weevils. Rhynchitidae may be treated as subfamily Rhynchitinae of the Attelabidae.
The palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus is one of two species of snout beetle known as the red palm weevil, Asian palm weevil or sago palm weevil. The adult beetles are relatively large, ranging between two and four centimeters long, and are usually a rusty red colour—but many colour variants exist and have often been classified as different species. Weevil larvae can excavate holes in the trunks of palm trees up to a metre long, thereby weakening and eventually killing the host plant. As a result, the weevil is considered a major pest in palm plantations, including the coconut palm, date palm and oil palm.
The maize weevil, known in the United States as the greater rice weevil, is a species of beetle in the family Curculionidae. It can be found in numerous tropical areas around the world, and in the United States, and is a major pest of maize. This species attacks both standing crops and stored cereal products, including wheat, rice, sorghum, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, peas, and cottonseed. The maize weevil also infests other types of stored, processed cereal products such as pasta, cassava, and various coarse, milled grains. It has even been known to attack fruit while in storage, such as apples.
Dudua aprobola, the mango flower webworm or litchi leaf roller, is a moth of the family Tortricidae. The species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1886. It is a pest on several economically important crops.
Paracoccus marginatus, commonly known as the papaya mealybug, is a small sap-sucking insect in the mealybug family, Pseudococcidae. It is found on a number of different hosts, including economically important tropical fruit trees and various ornamental plants.
The South American palm weevil, Rhynchophorus palmarum, is a species of snout beetle. The adults are relatively large black beetles of approximately one and a half inch in length, and the larvae may grow to two inches in length.
Sternochetus mangiferae is a weevil commonly known as the mango seed weevil, mango stone weevil, or mango weevil. It is a compact weevil typical of the Cryptorhynchinae. It was first described in 1775 in the genus Curculio. The adults are 7.5-9.5 mm long and 4 mm in width.
Apoderus coryli, common name hazel-leaf roller weevil, is a species of leaf-rolling beetles belonging to the family Attelabidae subfamily Attelabinae. Because of the trunk-like elongated head, it is often mistakenly attributed to the weevils.
Callosobruchus chinensis is a common species of beetle found in the bean weevil subfamily, and is known to be a pest to many stored legumes. Although it is commonly known as the adzuki bean weevil it is in fact not a true weevil, belonging instead to the leaf beetle family, Chrysomelidae. Other common names include the pulse beetle, Chinese bruchid and cowpea bruchid. This species has a very similar lifestyle and habitat to Callosobruchus maculatus and their identities are often mistaken for each other. This beetle is a common pest targeting many different species of stored legumes and it is distributed across the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. C. chinensis is one of the most damaging crop pests to the stored legume industry due to their generalized legume diets and wide distribution.
The yellow-poplar weevil, scientific classification Odontopus calceatus, is a type of weevil which occurs in much of the eastern and southeastern United States. Its range is as far north as Massachusetts all the way south to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Atlantic westward to the Mississippi River. It is also known as the sassafras mining weevil, tuliptree leafminer, tulip tree weevil, or the magnolia leaf miner.
Trichobaris trinotata, commonly known as the "potato stalk borer", is a species of weevil in the family Curculionidae. It is found in North America where it is a pest of potato plants, the larvae tunnelling inside their stems.
Xylosandrus crassiusculus, known generally as the Asian ambrosia beetle or granulate ambrosia beetle, is a species of tropical bark beetle in the family Curculionidae. It is native to Asia and has spread to Africa, Europe, Australasia and the Americas. The adult beetle is reddish-brown and some 2 to 3 mm long.
Chlumetia transversa, the mango shoot borer, is a moth of the family Euteliidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1863. It is a widely distributed across Indo-Australian tropical countries far east to Solomon Islands.
Cosmopolites sordidus, commonly known as the banana root borer, banana borer, or banana weevil, is a species of weevil in the family Curculionidae. It is a pest of banana cultivation and has a cosmopolitan distribution, being found in all parts of the world in which bananas are grown. It is considered the most serious insect pest of bananas.
Diocalandra frumenti, commonly known as the palm weevil borer, the lesser coconut weevil, or four-spotted coconut weevil, is a species of weevil in the family Curculionidae. It occurs in Africa, Southern Asia and Northern Australia, and is a pest of coconut and other palm trees.
Selenothrips rubrocinctus, commonly known as the redbanded thrips, is a species of thrips in the family Thripidae. It was first described from the West Indies but may have originated in northern South America. It has spread to other parts of the world and now has a near pan-tropical distribution, occurring in North, Central, and South America, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia.
