Rhynchitidae
The tooth-nosed snout weevils, Rhynchitidae, are small beetles that are usually found vegetation. They usually use buds, fruits, or seeds for oviposition. The tooth-nosed snout weevils receive this name due to the teeth on the edges of their mandibles.
Traditionally considered a subfamily of Attelabidae within the Curculionoidea, 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, is the only pterocoline known from North America. It is an obligate egg predator and nidus kleptoparasite of some beetles in the family Attelabidae.Taxonomy
Genera
These 11 genera belong to the subfamily Rhynchitinae:
- Auletobius Desbrochers, 1869 i c g b
- Byctiscus
- Deporaus Samouelle, 1819 i c g b
- Eugnamptus Schönherr, 1839 i c g b
- Haplorhynchites Voss, 1924 i c g b
- Involvulus Schrank, 1798 i c g b
- Merhynchites Sharp, 1889 i c g b
- Pselaphorhynchites Schilsky, 1903 i c g
- Pterocolus Say, 1831 i c g
- Rhynchites Schneider, 1791 i c g b
- Temnocerus Thunberg, 1815 c g b
Data sources: i = ITIS, c = Catalogue of Life, g = GBIF, b = Bugguide.net
