Weevil? Id and advice please

[Kirani]

I found this little critter in my kitchen this morning sitting beside my kitchen sink. I think it's some sort of weevil but would like to be sure. Also depending what it is, what are the chances of there being friends of his elsewhere in my kitchen and where should I start looking?



Sorry it's not the best picture in the world. For reference, the little squares are 2mm x 2mm. Meaning the "weevil"? is roughly 1cm in length.

[JRsbugs]

Hi Kirani,

It looks like a Vine Weevil, which may have come inside with a plant pot or sometimes they just come inside on their own! They mostly do that in autumn when it's turning cold and start to emerge when it warms in spring. Be vigilant as they can lay up to 1500 eggs and like to do that in pots, Fuchsia and Heuchera are favourites but they also like Rhododendron and other plants. The larvae will feed on the roots causing the plant to die. They also love Cyclamen, feeding on the roots then the tuber, if you have a Cyclamen inside and the leaves start to droop check out the bottom of the tuber. Put your foot on it is the best remedy, although I don't like doing that to anything these can increase at an alarming rate if you don't get them first.

If anyone thinks it's something different please speak up, but it looks like the dreaded vine weevil to me.

Janet

[Dogghound]

Yes one of the Otiorhynchus sp of weevils. As JR says its most likely O.sulcatus a species regularly encountered in houses.

[Geoff F]

It doesn't have the typical orange flecks on it's abdomen but that could be because it is still quite early in the year. Otherwise everything adds up for Vine Weevil.

I doubt it is on its own, in which case, from my experience you have two choices - move house or stop growing everything that the larvae feed upon. Look out for sickly wilting plants inside and out. Check for small white grubs eating roots and destroy them. I found that putting them on the birdtable was the most economical form of destruction.

Add primulas to Janet's list but native primroses appear to be immune. I found that hardy outdoor fuchsias were tolerant but they find the tender varieties absolutely delicious. If you get an infestation there are chemical and biological controls available but I found the only real cure was to stop growing vunrable plants and starve them out.

[JRsbugs]

Mine have gold flecks and yes it does look a little pale but that could be down to overexposure too.

I haven't had problems with them on my in ground hardy Fuchsias either, not sure if it's the tender varieties they prefer or they just prefer pots. When I first got them a few years ago I went out in the very early hours with a torch to check my Fuchias I had in pots then, you could tell where they were as they eat a ragged chunk out of the leaves. If you see leaves being eaten and it's day time you can sometimes find them under the pot or under the rim.

I haven't had problems with my in ground Cyclamen either, one of the hardy ones actually came with it's own vine weevil which I dispatched to vine weevil hell. I found a heap of larvae under my Heucheras one year, the clue was loose plants! I renew strawberries on a 3 year cycle and have found a few, chafer grubs like those too.

So far my Primulas haven't been affected, perhaps the location was not near where they were. Slowly but surely I have nearly eradicated them! Keep old pots from dead plants tipped out as they can be found in those too. Each spring I do a check on any Fuchsias I have in the greenhouse, giving them a wobble is a good clue as they start to grow in spring, if loose it's a sure sign. Sheer determination can work!

[Kirani]

I'll make sure I keep an eye on my plants. At present all I have in the house is a Crassula ovata (Money Plant), although I do have a rather large garden although nothing really starting to bloom except for my tulips. Everything else is pretty much just grass or Galium aparine (Goose Grass). Will definately keep an eye on everything. I have quite a few seeds in my greenhouse ready to go, are those at risk as well or is it only more mature plants at risk?

[haematocephalus]

I agree that this does look like a Vine Weevil, but it also looks very much like another weevil, Liophloeus tessulatus. I always find them difficult to tell apart at first glance, but tessulatus has a smoother thorax and elytra, can be all black or mottled black/brown/grey, and the front tibia have more of an inward-pointing tip, which I think I can see in the photo. L. tessulatus doesn't have the little tufts of orange scales that Vine Weevil has, but it can be hard to see that until you look closely. There's also a difference in the antennal grooves of the rostrum, but I can't see that in the photo.

I get a lot of L. tessulatus on the walls of my house, and have found them indoors on a couple of occasions. Their larvae feed on the roots of umbellifers such as Hogweed, the adults are found in woods and hedgerows (when they're not in houses!).

I'm not able to be certain of the species from this photo, but you might not need to worry about Vine Weevil just yet.

Martin


Martin Harvey

[Kirani]

I don't have any other photographs of it but if it helps it had white markings on its underside... I don't know if that makes a difference to the identification, just something I remembered from yesterday, unfortunately I have now released the little beasty... away from my garden I might add lol so can't provide any new information or pictures of it.

[JRsbugs]

Interesting, I haven't come across the other one, Liophloeus tessulatus so I googled and found it on the bugsandweeds web site which states:

The colouring and size of the Vine weevil, Otiorhinchus sulcatus is similar but that is distinguished by the basal segment of the antenna being longer than the width of the pronotum (the broad area just behind the head). The Vine weevil also has pronounced 'spurs' on its femurs whereas those on L. tessulatus are reduced to small lumps on the underside of the femurs.

If you compare the pronotum on the pic posted by Kirani you will see the first antennal segment is longer than the width of the pronotum, so this has to be the Vine Weevil Otiorhinchus sulcatus. The pic on bugsandweeds of Liophloeus tessulatus clearly shows shorter first antennae segment, and a comparitively broad pronotum.

[The Woodman]

Originally Posted by JRsbugs

Hi Kirani,

Put your foot on it is the best remedy, although I don't like doing that to anything

Far from being a knowledgeable poster on this subject, it looks like Vine Weevil to me and they do make a very satisfying crunch.