Curculio

Curculio
A filbert weevil (Curculio occidentis) on an acorn cap
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Curculionidae
Genus:	Curculio Linnaeus, 1758
Species
About 30, see text

Curculio is a genus of weevils belonging the family Curculionidae and subfamily Curculioninae.^[1][2] Members of the genus are commonly referred to as acorn weevils or nut weevils as they infest the seeds of trees such as oaks and hickories. The adult female weevil bores a tiny hole in the immature nut to lay her eggs, which then hatch into legless grubs. In the fall, the grubs bore holes through the shells from the inside to emerge into the soil where they may live for a year or two before maturing into adults.^[3]

Species

Species of Curculio include:

• Curculio caryae – the pecan weevil
• Curculio elephas – the chestnut weevil
• Curculio glandium – the acorn weevil (in Europe)
• Curculio nucum – the acorn weevil (in North America) or hazelnut weevil
• Curculio occidentis – the Filbert weevil

See also

• Curculigo

References

1. Lester P. Gibson (1969). Monograph of the genus Curculio in the New World (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). College Park, Maryland: Entomological Society of America.
2. Frank W. Pelsue, Jr. & Runzhi Zhang (2000). "A review of the genus Curculio L. from China with descriptions of new taxa. Part I (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Curculioninae: Curculionini)". The Coleopterists Bulletin 54 (2): 125–142. doi:10.1649/0010-065X(2000)054[0125:AROTGC]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 4009530.
3. Otto Kumpe & Dwight Isely (1936). "Notes on biologies of nut infesting weevils". Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 9 (1): 13–16. JSTOR 25081433.