Weevils or Snout Beetles (Curculionidae)
(Category Beetles)
Weevils can easily be identified by their long snout (therefore the name snout beetle) which they use to suck on fruits, grain, seeds, leafs, roots and other plant materials. The Curculionidae family is the largest beetle family with more than 60.000 species in the whole world and about 1.200 species in Europe.
Some species such as the Granary Weevil are pests to grain and seeds because their larvae develop in the grain. Other pests are Rice Weevils and Nut Weevils which can destroy a whole harvest.
But most weevils in nature aren't ever noticed because the average size is about 5-7mm and many species let themselves drop down when they notice someone coming (which makes photographing them more difficult). On the other hand there are also large snout beetles such as Liparus glarirostris on the pictures above which is the largest weevil in Germany.
Below some pictures of Snout Beetles:
Please notice the Licencing Information for these pictures!
(Click an image to enlarge)
Copyright © by Chris Schuster
Modified: Thursday, July 21 2005, 13:34 (CEST)