Ok, so we all agree.....Weevils are a type of beetle belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea. And they are usually quite small, and herbivorous. So far, so good.
To illustrate the weevil debate, I am using pictures of Weevil The Gold Dust weevil, or Hypomeces pulviger. Why? cos they look so wonderful.
An amazing 97,000 species of weevils are known so far, and that number keeps growing...and this causes problems, as because so many species exist in such diversity, the higher classification of weevils is in a state of flux. This chappy has pollen on him.
Now, these insects are generally divided into two major divisions, the Orthoceri or primitive weevils, and the Gonatoceri or true weevils (Curculionidae). But, E. C. Zimmerman proposed a third division, the Heteromorphi, for several intermediate forms. And so the arguments begin. Our word for today....The scape. And how to tell them apart? Primitive weevils are distinguished by having straight antennae, while true weevils have elbowed (geniculate) antennae. The elbow occurs at the end of the scape (first antennal segment) in true weevils, and the scape is usually much longer than the other antennal segments. But, as always, some exceptions occur - so really, it's more of a guide and less of a rule. Anyway, i'm out of here! I'm a photographer, not a naturalist! Take off......
more weevils...these are from the philippines...from last month
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