Weevil Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Weevils

The Filbert weevil, Curculio occidentis, a pest of oak trees
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Subclass:	Pterygota
Infraclass:	Neoptera
Superorder:	Endopterygota
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Family:	Curculionidae

Maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais

Weevils are herbivorous beetles. They have a long 'snout' at the front of their head, called a rostrum. Weevils are a family, the Curculionidae, which may be the largest beetle family, with about 45,000+ named living species. That makes it the largest family in the animal kingdom. In addition, the superfamily Curculionoidea has ten more families of closely related weevil-type beetles.

Damaging pests
New species
Images for kids
See also

Damaging pests

The family has some pests which damage plants of interest to humans. The most famous weevil is the boll weevil, which ruins cotton crops.

The Ips genus, feeding on Ponderosa pine, introduces a fungus to the tree. The fungus blocks resin canals, which leaves the weevil free to eat. Resin would normally wash the insects out; it is a defence mechanism. The fungus often kills the tree, and groups of dead trees are a focus for forest fires. In this way the insect is indirectly responsible for serious fires.

The maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais, is a major pest. It attacks both standing crops and stored cereal products, including wheat, rice, sorghum, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, peas, and cottonseed.