Phyllobius weevil for ID

[peterbolson]

Swept from low vegetation along woodland edge. 8 mm long with toothed femora.
I have been trying to ID this with my newly acquired Morris's RES key. The best fit I can get is P.pomaceous but according to the key the hind legs should be longer ( the apex of the hind tibia should extend well beyond the elytra ) although looking at the photos in the WCG website this is not always the case with the specimens shown there as P.pomaceous. The scales, general proportions & antennae look right though.
I'd be very grateful for an expert opinion. I can check the specimen for other points if necessary.
Peter

[Jason Green]

Evening Peter,

Nice, clear shots. Do you have the specimen still a-shivering and a microscope handy? If so, look at the tibiae - are they round, or ridged on the outside? This should be easier discerned under the 'scope than to hope it will show correctly to us in a 1d-photo, however good it is. If I was to assume yours are ridged, for me it keys out as Phyllobius pyri. How long is your one?

Let's hope we can pin this one down

Take care,

Jason

[Rossco]

If that's what you find after carefully going through the key, Peter, then chances are it's that one. Some of the characters used in those keys are continuously variable, so if everything else appears to fit something like leg length may simply confuse things.

I did some work on broad nosed weevils a while ago and they're xexexexexexe to identify even with the keys. The species I was working on - Cathormiocerus britannicus was considered to be an endemic to the UK; however DNA sequencing showed it was indistinguishable from another species C. myrmecophilus. If you want the PDF of this paper let me know and I'll email it to you.

Concrete identification of these beetles is complicated by the fact that many species are parthenogenetic meaning there's no selection pressure on their genitals - ruling these features out as tools for determination.

Ross

[peterbolson]

Hi Jason
I too initially thought that it was P.pyri but there is no sharp blade like edge to the tibiae. Also the rostrum seems too long.
Peter
Hi Ross
Just seen your very interesting & helpful reply. Going on what you say I think this is most likely to be P.pomaceous. Thanks for your offer but I suspect it will be too technical for me !
Peter