It took me a long time to actually figure out what a weevil was. Well, it turns out it’s more simple than I thought! It’s just a fancy name for a type of beetle. And, like any beetles, it can infest your home. That’s why today we’re going to be talking about some Florida weevils.
Florida Weevils: Overview
Sometimes plant-feeding weevils invade homes for shelter from the weather. Occasionally people accidentally bring seed-feeding weevils into the kitchen.
Outdoors, weevils eat the leaves of trees, shrubs, and plants. However, in the fall of the year, these plant-feeding weevils start looking for a place to spend the winter.
Some species, like the Asiatic oak weevil, are attracted to lights. They gather around the doors and windows of houses. Homeowners sometimes notice hundreds of weevils clustered on the outside of the house. When weevils find cracks or openings around the windows, they move inside the house. They will also enter through broken screens on attic vents or crawlspace vents. They can also crawl under doors that have damaged weather stripping.
Many of the weevils that invade a home spend the winter behind the insulation inside the walls. The attic, the garage, and the crawl space are also common winter hiding places for weevils. These weevils might spend the winter without being seen by the homeowner.
However, some weevils find their way into the living space of the home. The weevils might come through a crack in a wall or a space next to a pipe. They might crawl up from the crawl space through a gap under a baseboard. They might even use an opening for a light fixture to crawl down from the attic.
Weevil Confusion?
In the winter, the living space of a home is warmer than the attic or the crawl space. This can confuse weevils. When they get into the warm environment of the home, the weevils start to act as if it is springtime. They try to find a way to get outdoors.
Weevils that come indoors for shelter can infest every room in the home. They often cluster in rooms that have windows. They gather at the windows trying to get outside. Homeowners find these weevils crawling on the walls, on windowsills, and on ceilings. Homeowners have reported seeing hundreds of weevils crawling up their walls and then dropping back down to the floor again.
Some species of weevils, such as the rice weevil, feed on stored food products. Homeowners may find these weevils in packages of beans, popcorn, cereal or nuts. These weevils will also attack fruit, including apples, pears, and grapes. Homeowners can bring them home inside of food packages.
Rice weevils, bean weevils, and other stored food weevils feed inside food packages. They can remain hidden in the pantry for a long time. Homeowners might spot adult weevils wandering on the shelves or floor of the pantry.
Florida Weevil: Looks
A weevil is a beetle that can be found in a wide range of colors and sizes. Mainly they have an oval body shape, or they are slender looking. The species of the weevil defines its length. They can be either 3mm long or as big as 10 mm.
Weevils usually have a dark-colored body that ranges from brown to black. You can clearly understand whether the beetle is a Weevil by seeing its head. The adult weevil has an unusually elongated head that resembles a snout. This can be as big as their own body. The mouth of the weevil lies at the end of the snout. Different species have different appearances. The Bruchidae species lack the snout and don’t resemble the original weevil.
It is very easy to identify a weevil; their famous snout gives them away. Their color can vary from black to gray to a combination of reddish and brown. They have a distinguishing trait that is the two spurs that are present on the femur (first joint) of each of their front legs. The Weevils family contains more than 60,000 species under the name of Curculionoidea. As many as 1000 of these species are found in North America alone. A Weevil may also contain shiny body hair or scales on its body. The snout beetles have spurs on their front legs. There are 9 types of Weevils.
Signs of Weevil Infestation
If you see a lot of damages to your grains or food products, then it is the work of a Weevil. They cause a lot of damage to grains, macaroni, wheat, oats, corn, sorghum, barley, buckwheat, Kaffir seed, and other products. These products are mostly damaged by Weevils. Look for signs to know whether you have them.
The Palmetto Weevil: A Florida Weevils Special
Now we’ll talk about a special member of the Florida weevils. The largest weevil in North America is the palmetto weevil, Rhynchophorus cruentatus Fabricius. The palmetto weevil is native to Florida and until recently was the only species of palm weevil in the continental United States. Once, the palmetto weevil was considered a minor pest, attacking only severely wounded and dying trees. However, it is now known to be a pest of stressed nursery and transplanted palms as well as apparently healthy Canary Island date, Bismark and Latan palms. The adults of this species display various color variations. They can also be quite variable in overall size.
The adults of the palmetto weevil vary in color from solid black to almost completely red with a variable black pattern. Their total length from the tip of the rostrum to the end of the pygidium (the tergum of the last visible segment of the abdomen) ranges from 1.9 to 3.0 cm. The larvae, or grubs, are legless and creamy to yellowish in color. Their prominent head is dark brown and very hard. They have large mandibles. Mature larvae can be quite large, some with a mass close to six grams. While we are aware of no human consumption of palmetto weevils in the United States, larvae of palm weevils are considered a delicacy in other areas.
Of course, it would be the sunshine state that would be the home of the largest weevils…