The tooth-nosed snout weevils, Rhynchitidae, are small

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

s (1.5 to 6.5 mm) that are usually found in vegetation. They usually use buds, fruits, or seeds for oviposition. The tooth-nosed snout

weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, ...

s receive this name due to the teeth on the edges of their

mandible In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bon ...

s. Traditionally considered a subfamily of

Attelabidae The Attelabidae is a widespread family of weevils. They are among the primitive weevils, because of their straight antennae, which are inserted near the base of the rostrum. The prothorax is much narrower than the base of the elytra on the ab ...

within the

Curculionoidea Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, ...

(weevils and relatives), the tooth-nosed snout weevils are regarded as a separate family Rhynchitidae by some authorities. A common member of this group is the rose curculio, '' Merhynchites bicolor'', which feeds on roses. A number of species from Rhynchitidae are recorded from Britain. The thief weevil, ''

Pterocolus ovatus ''Pterocolus ovatus'', known generally as the thief weevil or leaf roll thief, is a species of thief weevil in the family of beetles known as Attelabidae. It is found in North America. The thief weevil is an obligate egg predator and nest thief ...

'', is the only pterocoline (subfamily Pterocolinae) known from North America. It is an obligate egg

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

and nidus

kleptoparasite Kleptoparasitism (etymologically, parasitism by theft) is a form of feeding in which one animal deliberately takes food from another. The strategy is evolutionarily stable when stealing is less costly than direct feeding, which can mean when f ...

(nest thief) of some beetles in the family

Genera

These genera belong to the subfamily Rhynchitinae: * '' Acritorrhynchites'' Voss, 1941 * '' Aderorhinus'' Sharp, 1889 * '' Afrorhynchites'' Legalov, 2003 * '' Aspidobyctiscus'' Schilsky, 1903 * '' Auletobius'' Desbrochers, 1869 * '' Byctiscus'' Thomson, 1859 * '' Caenorhinus'' Thomson, 1859 * '' Chonostropheus'' Prell, 1924 * '' Cyaneugnamptus'' Legalov, 2003 * '' Cyllorhynchites'' Voss, 2013 * '' Deporaus'' Samouelle, 1819 * '' Eomesauletes'' Legalov, 2001 * '' Essodius'' Sharp, 1889 * ''

Eugnamptus ''Eugnamptus'' is a genus of leaf and bud weevils in the beetle family Attelabidae. There are more than 170 described species in ''Eugnamptus''. See also * List of Eugnamptus species This is a list of 173 species in ''Eugnamptus'', a genus of ...

'' Schönherr, 1839 * '' Eugnamptobius'' Voss, 1922 * '' Haplorhynchites'' Voss, 1924 * '' Hemilypus'' Sharp, 1889 * '' Involvulus'' Schrank, 1798 * '' Lasiorhynchites'' Jekel, 1860 * '' Mecorhis'' Billberg, 1820 * '' Merhynchites'' Sharp, 1889 * '' Metopum'' * '' Minurus'' Waterhouse, 1842 * '' Neocoenorhinidius'' Legalov, 2003 * '' Neocoenorrhinus'' Voss, 1952 * '' Neoeugnamptus'' Legalov, 2003 * '' Pseudauletes'' Voss, 1922 * '' Rhodocyrtus'' Alonso-Zarazaga & Lyal, 1999 * '' Rhynchites'' Schneider, 1791 * '' Schoenitemnus'' Legalov, 2003 * '' Tatianaerhynchites'' Legalov 2002 * '' Temnocerus'' Thunberg, 1815 * '' Teretriorhynchites'' Voss, 1938 * † '' Stenorhynchites'' Havlicek 1990

References

* Triplehorn CA, Johnson NF. 2005. Borror and Delong's Introduction to the Study of Insects. 7th Edition. * Hall DW, Buss LJ. (2007). Thief weevil, ''Pterocolus ovatus'' Fabricius. Featured Creatures. EENY-420.

External links

''Pterocolus ovatus'', thief weevil
on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site {{Taxonbar, from=Q2505706 Attelabidae Articles containing video clips