Curculio glandium

Curculio glandium is a species of European carpophagus weevil in the genus Curculio, the acorn and nut weevils.[1] It eats by a rostrum, an elongated snout, that is used for piercing.

Curculio glandium
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Curculionidae
Subfamily: Curculioninae
Genus: Curculio
Species:
C. glandium
Binomial name
Curculio glandium
Marsham, 1802
Adult


Description

Curculio glandium is a member of the genus Curculio, which comprises seed beetles. All members of Curculio have characteristically long rostrums and ovipositors, an adaptation that specifically developed by their reliance on seeds for food and reproduction. [2]

Male/Female differentiation can be determined using the rostrum as female's are longer.[3] The larvae are short, and cylindrical in shape, and move by means of ridges on the underside of the body. Adults can reach a length of 4 to 8 mm.[4]

Life cycle

Curculio glandium eggs are deposited in acorns by the adult weevil chewing channels into the fruit. The eggs are then released using an ovipositor, a long, narrow organ featured in female weevils.[2] These do not reach the acorn's embryo and are healed by the plant, sealing the holes and protecting the eggs from parasites. Upon hatching, either one or two larvae consume the fruit. While they may eat the entirety of the acorn, the larvae typically do not consume the embryo itself.[5] Curculio glandium live throughout winter in the larval stage. The larvae are freeze avoidant, preventing their internal body fluids from freezing during the winter.[6][7]

Ecology

Curculio glandium can pose a large risk to acorn bearing tree populations. They are highly effective at infecting acorns which can cause a widespread number of seeds to be incapable of germination, with a potential of rendering 70-90% of seeds incapable of germination.[1][5]

References
  1. CSÓKA, György. "Direct Effects of Carpophagous Insects on the Germination Ability and Early Abscission of Oak Acorns". Department of Forest Protection, Forest Research Institute, Mátrafüred, Hungary.
  2. Hughes, Joseph; Vogler, Alfried P. (2004-08-01). "The phylogeny of acorn weevils (genus Curculio) from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences: the problem of incomplete data". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 32 (2): 601–615. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.02.007. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 15223041.
  3. "Acorn Weevil | NatureSpot". www.naturespot.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-11-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. Oltean, I (March 2018). "CURCULIO GLANDUM, A PEST WHICH REDUCES THE QUALITY OF THE SEED AT QERCUS PETRAEA IN HILLY TREE FROM O.S. ALMAŞ, D.S. ZALĂU". University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine.
  6. Udaka, Hiroko; Sinclair, Brent J. (2014-08-01). "The overwintering biology of the acorn weevil, Curculio glandium in southwestern Ontario". Journal of Thermal Biology. 44: 103–109. doi:10.1016/j.jtherbio.2014.02.019. ISSN 0306-4565. PMID 25086980.
  7. "Freeze Avoidance – The Storey Lab". www.kenstoreylab.com. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
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