''Rhynchaenus'' is a genus of
beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s alternatively placed in the subfamilies
Rhynchaeninae or in
Curculioninae, of family
Curculionidae
The Curculionidae are a family of weevils, commonly called snout beetles or true weevils. They are one of the largest animal families, with 6,800 genera and 83,000 species described worldwide. They are the sister group to the family Brentidae.
T ...
. It previously included the genus ''
Orchestes
''Orchestes'' is a genus of beetles either classified in the subfamily Rhynchaeninae or in the tribe Rhamphini of the subfamily Curculioninae, of the family Curculionidae. It encompasses six species in North America, including '' Orchestes aln ...
'', but is now restricted to a smaller group of species, all of which occur in Europe, Japan, or North Africa and feed on
Asteraceae
The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...
plants. Reports of its occurrence in North America are erroneous.
Species
A large number of species have been assigned under the ''Rhynchaenus'' genera although some species originally assigned to ''Rhynchaenus'' now belong in a different genera
References
Literature cited
* Anderson, R.S. 1989
Revision of the subfamily Rhynchaeninae in North America (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)(subscription required). Transactions of the American Entomological Society 115(3):207–312.
* Anderson, R.S., O'Brien, C.W., Salsbury, G.A. and Krauth, S.J. 2007
''Orchestes alni'' (L.) newly discovered in North America (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)(subscription required). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 80(1):78–79.
Further reading
* Uber die Russelkaferarten der Gattung Stenocarus Thoms. und Rhynchaenus Clairv. (Coleoptera, Curculionidae).
* Revision of the Japanese species of Chrysocharis (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae), 1.
* Hyponomological fauna of Slovenia. 25.
* The weevils of Kansas: a manual for identification.
* Digital-Weevil-Determination of West Palaearctic: Isochnus/Orchestes/Pseudorchestes/Rhamphus/Rhynchaenus/Tachyerges (Curculioninae: Rhamphini).
External links
Curculioninae
Beetles of Europe
{{Curculioninae-stub