WEEVIL, Curculio, a Linnman genus of insects, now forming the tribe rhyncleopltora, of the order coleoptera, and section tetramera. They are remarkably characterized by the prolongation of the head into a beak or snout, at the extremity of which the mouth is placed, and from which the club-shaped antenna spring. Some of them have straight antenna ; but the greater number have the antenna geniculated, or bent forward at the second joint. The species are very numerous, and are distributed over all parts of the world. They all feed on vegetable food, both in their larval and in their perfect state; and some of theta are notable for the mischief which they do in the former state to the young shoots, leaves, fruits, and seeds of plants. They are diurnal insects, many of them very small, but others of considerable size. They are slow, timid, and defense less; although the long hard beak suggests to those ignorant of its real nature and of their habits an idea of danger in handling the larger species. Many of them are of very dull and uniform color; but among the most beautiful of the coleoptera resplendent with the finest hues, and brilliant as gems. Such is the well-known dia mond beetle (q.v.) of South America. The larva of weevils are soft, white, and foot less, with very convex rings, hard heads, and horny jaws. The-perfect insects are often found on leaves and in flowers of the particular kinds of plants on which they and their larva feed. Rhyncliites betuleti, a weevil often very injurious to vineyards, constructs a nest for its larva by rolling up the leaf of the vine, piercing the roll as it proceeds, and depositing eggs between the folds in the inner part of the roll. The larva feed upon the leaf, which the parents further adapt for their use by cutting the leaf-stalk half through, so that the leaf hangs down, and by the time they are ready to change into the chrys alis state, it drops off, or is blown off by the wind, when they bury themselves in the ground to wait for the return of spring. Other trees, as the pear-tree, are infested by weevils which destroy their leaves in a similar manner; the leaves of some, as of the peach, often suffer injury from weevils, which devour them, like caterpillars, without rolling them up; and turnips are subject to the ravages of certain small species of weevil, which proceed in the same manner. SOrne species of weevil gnaw young shoots. The shoots of fruit trees, and young grafts, are sometimes destroyed by weevils, which bore into them by means of their beak, and make a small chamber in the center, in which an egg is deposited, being pushed into its proper place by the beak.
The shoot is then cut through a little lower down, and the parent weevil may be seen climbing upon it, when the operation is nearly completed, to make it fall by her weight, and returning again to her work, if it is not yet ready to fall. She lays aboui two eggs a day, but continues her operations for many weeks, so that much destruction is effected. The larva feeds on the pith of the fallen shoot, and deserts it when ready to become a chrysalis, to bury itself in the ground.—The larva of a large species of weevil (calandra palmaruin) inhabits palm-trees in South America, feeding on their central part, and is i eaten and esteemed as a delicacy. When roasted, it almost melts into grease; but its flavor is said to be remarkably fine. This weevil is black; about an inch and a half long ; it's larva is between two and three inches long. Another species (calandra sacchari) is very destructive to the sugar-cane. Its, larva is also eaten in the West Indies and Guiana.—The wood of pines and firs is the food of certain kinds of weevil, so that plan tations suffer severely from their ravages. Thousands of acres of pines in the southern states of America have been destroyed by a weevil (hyloblus pales), not much more than a quarter of an inch in length; and some of its congeners in other countries are scarcely less destructive, as hylobius abatis in Europe. There arc many species of weevil which attack leaf-buds and flower-buds. Thus anthanomus pom,orum infests the apple-tree, depositing its eggs in the flower-beds, and cutting off the prospect of fruit. Anthonomus pyri is equally injurious to the buds of pear-trees. Some species of rieyncl!ites lay their eggs in fruits—as apples and plums—at an early stage of their growth, cutting the fruit. stalk, that the fruit may fall, to the ground. The European nut-weevil (balaninui Tracunt) lays its eggs in young hazel-nuts, upon which the larva feed as the nuts grow; a nearly allied species attacks, in like manner, the hazel-nuts of America, and another inftsts acorns. The pea-weevil (q.v.) feeds upon peas; and other leguminous plants have their peculiar species, which devour their seeds. The corn-weevil (q.v.) is very destructive to wheat, and other similar species to maize, rice, and other kinds of grain.