6/25/2023 0 Comments Acorn weevil![]() Short-snouted larvae usually exit from a single hole that already exists in the acorn, but long-snouted larvae may chew their own exit hole through the acorn shell. After a few weeks, larvae chew their way out of the acorn, burrow into the soil to pupate, and eventually emerge as adults the next year. Each instar ends with the molt or shedding of the old skin, providing the larva with more room to grow. Larvae typically go through five growth stages, or instars. There may be one to several acorn weevil larvae in each acorn. Grub-like acorn weevil larvae hatch from eggs a few days after they are laid. Females place eggs inside the nut using a long ovipositor that descends from the abdomen. The tip of the snouth is actually a miniature saw, and the weevil places the tip against the shell, circling endlessly around the pivot point until the shell is pierced. These specimens are, of course, the long-snouted variety.Īdults of both genera feed on acorns, but only the long snouted weevils can drill into the shells to feed and lay eggs inside the nutmeat. ![]() The longsnouted acorn weevil's snout may be equal to or greater than the length of its body. There are two types, or genera: the long-snouted acorn weevils (genus Curculio) and the short-snouted ones (genus Conotrachelus). In the case of the acorn weevils, the snout can actually be longer than the body.Īcorn weevils have snouts with small, saw-like teeth at the very end. The bent antennae usually project from the middle of the snout. The mouthparts of snout beetles are modified into down-curved snouts, or beaks, adapted for boring into plants the jaws are at the end of the snout. There are over 35,000 species of weevil, with more than 2,500 species in the United States and Canada alone.
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