Weevils (Curculionoidea)
When we speak of weevils, the first thing that often springs to many minds is the infestation of "wiggle-woggles" in bags of flour. The true weevil is a small coleopter (generally < 6-10 mm) that is distinguished from other species of beetle by:
- the forepart of their head, which is often prolonged to the so-called “rostrum”, although in some reduced.
- In these cases, they can still be recognized by having one gular suture; by the labrum either absent or fused to the head; and by having 5 tarsomeres, of which the 4th is usually not visible.
- Some weevil families have geniculated antennae, whereas others have straight antennae. e
- 2–3 distal antennomeres are usually enlarged to form a distinct club, but this does not apply to all weevils.
[Paraphrased from Review of the biodiversity and zoogeographical patterns of the weevils (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea) in Israel by Ariel-Leib-Leonid Friedman, ZooKeys 31: 133–148 (2009), doi: 10.3897/zookeys.31.123 under Creative Commons Licence, Some Rights Reserved]
From information kindly received from Dr Friedman of Tel Aviv University and according to Dr. Gabriel Alziar of Nice, who has catalogued the weevil taxa of Cyprus, there are 252 species of Curculionoidea recorded from Cyprus (out of an estimated 300 species), of which 20 are endemic and 5 have been described as new to science, with a possibility of a further 10 species being described as new in the more or less near future. The catalogue is accessible from this link.
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