Curculionidae

The pictures below show a beetle from the family Curculionidae, which includes snout beetles and true weevils. They are found almost everywhere, and there are more than 3,000 species in North America. Their distinguishing characteristics include a well developed snout, and antennae arising from the middle of the snout. These insects feed on living and dead plants, and many are serious pets, particularly the larvae which feed on the roots and internal tissues of plants. The adults may bore into fruits, nuts, and other parts as well.

Because the family is so big, my textbook has information on the subfamilies. The subfamily Entiminae contains the broad-nosed weevils, so named because the sout is generally short and broad. This subfamily is flightless, as the elytra are fused together and the hind wings are vestigial. They are serious agricultural pests in the southern states, and tend to live in arid habitats like the southwestern United States.

Coleoptera; Polyphaga; Curculionoidea; Curculionidae; Entiminae; Eustylini; Diaprepes abbreviatus
Common Name: Diaprepes Root Weevil

This species is originally from the Caribbean, but was found in Florida in 1964 in a nursery near Apopka. It is thought that the weevil arrived on an ornamental plant shipment from Puerto Rico. Since its introduction, it has spread all over Florida and is a serious threat to the citrus and ornamental plant industry. It has begun to spread to Texas and California, where it has been spotted in Orange County in 2005 and San Diego County in 2006. These specimens were caught in Fall of 2008 in La Jolla of San Diego County.