Scolopterus penicillatus

Scolopterus penicillatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Family: Curculionidae
Genus: Scolopterus
Species:
S. penicillatus
Binomial name
Scolopterus penicillatus
White, 1846[1]

Scolopterus penicillatus, also known as the black spined weevil, is an endemic beetle of New Zealand.[2]

Physical description

In appearance it is a shining black colour with a purplish tinge and looks very similar to its close relative Scolopterus tetracanthus. S. penicillatus can be distinguished from S. tetracanthus as the spines on the shoulders of the former are much less pointed.[2]

Distribution and habitat

The beetle is present throughout New Zealand and can be discovered by beating native flowering plants in the summer months.[2] Adult black spined weevils have been collected from Hedychium gardnerianum[3] and caught in the flowers of Helichrysum lanceolatum.[4] The larvae of S. penicillatus are known to develop in the recently dead bark of the various species of Pseudopanax.[5]

R A Crowson of Glasgow University spent some time in New Zealand in 1956 and 1957 during which period he found larvae associated with pupae and teneral adults under the bark of a dead branch of a Nothopanax. The larvae were found at Parahaki and Nelson and were later identified by him and Sir G. A. K. Marshall as Scolopterus penicillatus White.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Scolopterus penicillatus White, 1846". New Zealand Organisms Register. Landcare Researc. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Manson, D. C. M. (1960). Native Beetles of New Zealand. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed. p. 15.
  3. ^ Winks, C. J.; et al. (2007). Invertebrates and Pathogens Associated with Wild Ginger, Hedychium gardnerianum and Hedychium flavescens (Zingiberaceae), in New Zealand (PDF) (Report). Landcare Research. p. 35. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  4. ^ Heine, E. M. (1937). "Observations on the pollination of New Zealand flowering plants" (PDF). Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 67 (2): 139. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  5. ^ May, Brenda M. (1993). "Larvae of Curculionoidea (Insecta: Coleoptera): a systematic overview" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 28: 76. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  6. ^ Cawthra, E M (23 May 1965). "A Description of the Larva of Scolopterus penicillatus White (Curculionidae: Eugnominae)". Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand: Zoology Page. 6 (16): 153.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scolopterus penicillatus.


This Curculioninae-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.