ENY 3005 Family Identification
Coleoptera: Curculionidae
Pronunciation: cur-cool-lee-ON-nih-dee
Common name: weevils and snout beetles
Identifying characteristics for the family Curculionidae include:
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Head usually with snout ranging from broad and flat in a few species to
elongate and narrow in most species.
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Antennae usually elbowed and with 3-segmented club.
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Length from 0.6 to 35 mm, mostly less than 10 mm; body often covered with
scales.
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Tarsi apparently 4-4-4, actually 5-5-5.
Additional information:
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About 2500 species in 375 genera and 42 subfamilies in North America; about
40,000 species worldwide.
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All species are plant feeders with some being serious pests of cultivated
crops and others being beneficial herbivores of weeds.
References:
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Pages 202-204 and plate 8 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field
Guide to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
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Pages 309-315 in R. E. White. 1983. A Field Guide to Beetles of North America.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 368 p.
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Page 464 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An
Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College
Publishing. 875 p.
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Pages 234-236 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects,
3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.
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Page 481 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction
to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.
Links to other Coleoptera taxa: Cicindelidae,
Carabidae, Dytiscidae,
Gyrinidae, Hydrophilidae,
Silphidae, Staphylinidae,
Cantharidae, Lampyridae,
Elateridae, Buprestidae,
Coccinellidae, Meloidae,
Tenebrionidae, Passalidae,
Scarabaeidae, Cerambycidae,
Chrysomelidae, Curculionidae.
Links to other web sites
Return to ENY 3005 Index to Orders
Prepared by John L. Foltz,
University of Florida, Dept of Entomology & Nematology, 12 Oct 1998.
Modified 8 June 2001.