Curculionoidea

Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small–less than in length–and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, with most of them in the family Curculionidae (the true weevils). It also includes bark beetles, which while morphologically dissimilar to other weevils in lacking the distinctive snout, is a subfamily of Curculionidae. Some other beetles, although not closely related, bear the name "weevil", such as the biscuit weevil (Stegobium paniceum), which belongs to the family Ptinidae. Many weevils are considered pests because of their ability to damage and kill crops. The grain or wheat weevil (Sitophilus granarius) damages stored grain, as does the maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais) among others. The boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) attacks cotton crops; it lays its eggs inside cotton bolls and the larvae eat their way out. Other weevils are used for biological control of invasive plants. A weevil's rostrum, or elongated snout, hosts chewing mouthparts instead of the piercing mouthparts that proboscis-possessing insects are known for. The mouthparts are often used to excavate tunnels into grains. In more derived weevils, the rostrum has a groove in which the weevil can fold the first segment of its antennae. Most weevils have the ability to fly (including pest species such as the rice weevil), though a significant number are flightless, such as the genus Otiorhynchus. One species of weevil, Austroplatypus incompertus, exhibits eusociality, one of the few insects outside the Hymenoptera and the Isoptera to do so. Because so many species exist in such diversity, the higher classification of weevils is in a state of flux. They are generally divided into two major divisions, the Orthoceri or primitive weevils, and the Gonatoceri or true weevils (Curculionidae). E. C. Zimmerman proposed a third division, the Heteromorphi, for several intermediate forms.

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Concepts associés (7)

Insecte

Les Insectes () sont une classe d'animaux invertébrés de l'embranchement des Arthropodes et du sous-embranchement des Hexapodes. Ils sont caractérisés par un corps segmenté en trois tagmes (tête possédant des pièces buccales externes, une paire d'antennes et au moins une paire d'yeux composés ; thorax pourvu de trois paires de pattes articulées et deux paires d'ailes plus ou moins modifiées ; abdomen dépourvu d'appendices) contenant au maximum 11 segments protégés par une cuticule formant un exosquelette composé de chitine et pourvu de trachées respiratoires.

Curculionoidea

Les Curculionoidea (les curculionoïdes en français) sont une super-famille d'insectes de l'ordre des coléoptères. La super-famille des Curculionoideae a été définie par Pierre André Latreille (1762-1833) en 1802. Anthribidae Billberg, 1820 Apionidae Schönherr, 1823 - apions Attelabidae Billberg, 1820 Belidae Schönherr, 1826 Brachyceridae Billberg, 1820 Brentidae Billberg, 1820 Cryptolaryngidae Schalkwyk, 1966 Curculionidae Latreille, 1802 - charançons, otiorhynques, orchestes, etc.

Ambrosia beetle

Ambrosia beetles are beetles of the weevil subfamilies Scolytinae and Platypodinae (Coleoptera, Curculionidae), which live in nutritional symbiosis with ambrosia fungi. The beetles excavate tunnels in dead, stressed, and healthy trees in which they cultivate fungal gardens, their sole source of nutrition. After landing on a suitable tree, an ambrosia beetle excavates a tunnel in which it releases spores of its fungal symbiont. The fungus penetrates the plant's xylem tissue, extracts nutrients from it, and concentrates the nutrients on and near the surface of the beetle gallery.