New York weevil

The New York weevil (Ithycerus novaboracensis) is an unusual sort of primitive weevil ; large for weevils (12-18 mm), it is covered with fine bristles and has a regular pattern of light and dark spots. It occurs in the eastern United States and southern Canada.

The rostrum (snout) is broad and stout, while the antennae are straight and thin, with the final three antennomeres making a small club.

This weevil is found in association with various plants of Fagaceae, Betulaceae, and Juglandaceae, in particular white oak and American beech. Adults feed on new growth and other soft parts, such as leaf petioles and buds. They lay their eggs in the ground, and the grubs then eat the roots of the same plants.

Most coleopterists agree that Ithycerus belongs in a distinct family Ithyceridae, although some prefer to put it in Curculionidae.

References

• Robert S. Anderson , "Ithyceridae", in Ross H. Arnett, Jr. and Michael C. Thomas, American Beetles (CRC Press, 2002), vol. 2
• M. Sanborne , "Biology of Ithycerus novaboracensis (Forster) (Coleoptera) and weevil phylogeny", Evolutionary Monographs 4: 1-80 (1981)