Editing Weevil (section)

{{short description|Superfamily of beetles}}
{{About|the beetles}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|166|0|[[Middle Jurassic]] - [[Recent]]|earliest=Ladinian}}
| name = Weevils
| image = Weevil September 2008-1.jpg
| image_caption = ''[[Lixus pulverulentus]]''
| taxon = Curculionoidea
| display_parents = 3
| authority = [[Pierre André Latreille|Latreille]], 1802
| subdivision_ranks = [[Family (biology)|Families]]
| subdivision = * [[Anthribidae]]
* [[Attelabidae]]
* [[Belidae]]
* [[Brentidae]]
* [[Caridae]]
* [[Cimberididae]]
* [[Curculionidae]]
* {{extinct}}[[Mesophyletidae]]
* [[Nemonychidae]]
* {{extinct}}?[[Obrieniidae]]
}}

'''Weevils''' are [[beetle]]s belonging to the [[Taxonomic rank|superfamily]] '''Curculionoidea''', known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small – less than {{convert|6|mm|abbr=on|frac=4}} in length – and [[Herbivore|herbivorous]]. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, with most of them in the family [[Curculionidae]] (the [[true weevil]]s). It also includes [[Bark beetle|bark beetles]], which while morphologically dissimilar to other weevils in lacking the distinctive snout, is a subfamily of Curculionidae. Some other beetles, although not closely related, bear the name "weevil", such as the [[leaf beetle]] subfamily [[bean weevil|Bruchinae]], known as "bean weevils", or the [[Drugstore beetle|biscuit weevil]] (''Stegobium paniceum''), which belongs to the family [[Ptinidae]].

Many weevils are considered pests because of their ability to damage and kill crops. The grain or [[wheat weevil]] (''Sitophilus granarius'') damages stored [[cereal|grain]], as does the [[maize weevil]] (''Sitophilus zeamais''), among others. The [[boll weevil]] (''Anthonomus grandis'') attacks [[cotton]] crops; it lays its eggs inside cotton bolls and the larvae eat their way out. Other weevils are used for biological control of invasive plants.

A weevil's [[Rostrum (anatomy)|rostrum]], or elongated snout, hosts chewing [[Arthropod mouthparts|mouthparts]] instead of the piercing mouthparts that [[proboscis]]-possessing insects are known for. The mouthparts are often used to excavate tunnels into grains.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Moon|first=Myung-Jin|date=2015|title=Microstructure of mandibulate mouthparts in the greater rice weevil, Sitophilus zeamais (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)|journal=Entomological Research|language=en|volume=45|issue=1|pages=9–15|doi=10.1111/1748-5967.12086|s2cid=82634306|issn=1748-5967}}</ref> In more derived weevils, the rostrum has a groove in which the weevil can fold the first segment of its antennae.

Most weevils have the ability to fly (including pest species such as the [[rice weevil]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-a-weevil-2656439|title=What Is a Weevil and How Did That Bug Get in My Food?}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/weevils-on-stored-grain|title=Weevils on Stored Grain (Department of Entomology)|website=Department of Entomology (Penn State University)}}</ref> though a significant number are flightless, such as the genus ''[[Otiorhynchus]]'', and others can jump.

One species of weevil, ''[[Austroplatypus incompertus]]'', exhibits [[eusociality]], one of the few insects outside the [[Hymenoptera]] and the [[Termite|Isoptera]] to do so.

[[File:Weevil3.jpg|thumb|''[[Curculio nucum]]'']]