The bean weevils or seed beetles are a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classifica ...

(Bruchinae) 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, now placed in the family

Chrysomelidae The insects of the beetle family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles, and include over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making up one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle ...

, though they have historically been treated as a separate family. They are

granivore Seed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores (seed predators) feed on the seeds of plants as a main or exclusive food source,Hulme, P.E. and Benkman, C.W. (2002) "Granivory", pp. 132 ...

s, and typically infest various kinds of

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

s or

bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

s, living most of their lives inside a single seed. The subfamily includes about 1,650 species and are found worldwide. Bean weevils are generally compact and oval in shape, with small heads somewhat bent under. Sizes range from 1 to 22 mm for some tropical species. Colors are usually black or brown, often with mottled patterns. Although their mandibles may be elongated, they do not have the long snouts characteristic of true

weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, ...

s. Adults deposit eggs on seeds, then the larvae chew their way into the seed. When ready to

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

te, the larvae typically cut an exit hole, then return to their feeding chamber. Adult weevils have a habit of feigning death and dropping from a plant when disturbed. Host plants tend to be

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock for ...

s, but species will also be found in

Convolvulaceae Convolvulaceae (), commonly called the bindweeds or morning glories, is a family of about 60 genera and more than 1,650 species. These species are primarily herbaceous vines, but also include trees, shrubs and herbs. The tubers of several spe ...

Arecaceae The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...

, and

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familia ...

, and several species are considered pests. One characteristic of the beetles which can be seen in the photo is that the

elytra An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alterna ...

are short, not quite reaching the tip of the abdomen. Several species are native to Great Britain, but there are also records of several

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

from stored products in warehouses and dwellings, although these species cannot proliferate outside of heated buildings in that climate.

Genera

This list of genera uses the new classification, treating the bean weevils as a subfamily with six extant tribes, eight or nine subtribes, and one extinct tribe. The former names and ranks for the tribes and subtribes under the old classification, treating the been weevils as a family, are given in parentheses (except for Myanmaropini, which was established only for the new classification). * Tribe Amblycerini Bridwell, 1932 (= Subfamily Amblycerinae) ** Subtribe Amblycerina Bridwell, 1932 (= Tribe Amblycerini) *** '' Amblycerus'' Thunberg, 1815 ** Subtribe Spermophagina Borowiec, 1987 (= Tribe Spermophagini) *** ''

Spermophagus ''Spermophagus'' is a genus of beetles belonging to the family Chrysomelidae subfamily Bruchinae The bean weevils or seed beetles are a subfamily (Bruchinae) of beetles, now placed in the family Chrysomelidae, though they have historically b ...

'' Schoenherr, 1833 *** ''

Zabrotes ''Zabrotes'' is a genus of pea and bean weevils in the beetle family Chrysomelidae. There are more than 20 described species in ''Zabrotes''. Species These 22 species belong to the genus ''Zabrotes'': * ''Zabrotes amplissimus'' Kingsolver, 199 ...

'' Horn, 1885 * Tribe Bruchini Latreille, 1802 (= Subfamily Bruchinae) ** Subtribe Acanthoscelidina Bridwell, 1946 (= Tribe Acanthoscelidini) *** '' Abutiloneus'' Bridwell, 1946 *** '' Acanthoscelides'' Schilsky, 1905 *** '' Algarobius'' Bridwell, 1946 *** '' Althaeus'' Bridwell, 1946 *** '' Bonaerius'' Bridwell, 1952 *** '' Caryedes'' Hummel, 1827 *** '' Cosmobruchus'' Bridwell, 1931 *** '' Ctenocolum'' Kingsolver & Whitehead, 1974 *** '' Dahlibruchus'' Bridwell, 1931 *** '' Gibbobruchus'' Pic, 1913 *** '' Lithraeus'' Bridwell, 1952 *** '' Margaritabruchus'' Romero & Johnson, 2001 *** '' Meibomeus'' Bridwell, 1946 *** '' Megasennius'' Whitehead & Kingsolver, 1975 *** '' Merobruchus'' Bridwell, 1946 *** '' Mimosestes'' Bridwell, 1946 *** '' Neltumius'' Bridwell, 1946 *** '' Neobruchidius'' Johnson & Romero, 2006 *** '' Palpibruchus'' Borowiec, 1987 *** '' Pectinibruchus'' Kingsolver, 1967 *** '' Penthobruchus'' Kingsolver, 1973 *** '' Pseudopachymerina'' Zacher, 1952 *** '' Pygiopachymerus'' Pic, 1911 *** '' Rhipibruchus'' Bridwell, 1932 *** '' Scutobruchus'' Kingsolver, 1968 *** '' Sennius'' Bridwell, 1946 *** '' Spatulobruchus'' Borowiec, 1987 *** ''

Stator The stator is the stationary part of a rotary system, found in electric generators, electric motors, sirens, mud motors or biological rotors. Energy flows through a stator to or from the rotating component of the system. In an electric m ...

'' Bridwell, 1946 *** '' Stylantheus'' Bridwell, 1946 ** Subtribe Bruchidiina Bridwell, 1946 (= Tribe Bruchidiini) *** '' Acanthobruchidius'' Borowiec, 1980 *** '' Borowiecus'' Anton, 1994 *** '' Bruchidius'' Schilsky, 1905 *** ''

Callosobruchus ''Callosobruchus'' is a genus of beetles in the family Chrysomelidae, the leaf beetles. It is in the subfamily Bruchinae, the bean weevils.Tuda, M., et al. (2006)Evolutionary diversification of the bean beetle genus ''Callosobruchus'' (Coleoptera ...

'' Pic, 1902 *** '' Conicobruchus'' Decelle, 1951 *** '' Decellebruchus'' Borowiec, 1987 *** '' Horridobruchus'' Borowiec, 1984 *** '' Kingsolverius'' Borowiec, 1987 *** '' Megabruchidius'' Borowiec, 1984 *** '' Palaeoacanthoscelides'' Borowiec, 1985 *** '' Parasulcobruchus'' Anton, 1999 *** '' Pygobruchidius'' Pic, 1951 *** '' Salviabruchus'' Decelle, 1982 *** '' Specularius'' Bridwell, 1938 *** '' Sulcobruchus'' Chûjô, 1937 *** '' Tuberculobruchus'' Decelle, 1951 ** Subtribe Bruchina Latreille, 1802 (= Tribe Bruchini) *** '' Bruchus'' Linnaeus, 1767 ** Subtribe Megacerina Bridwell, 1946 (= Tribe Megacerini) *** '' Megacerus'' Fåhraeus, 1839 * Tribe Eubaptini Bridwell, 1932 (= Subfamily Eubaptinae) ** '' Eubaptus'' Lacordaire, 1945 * Tribe Kytorhinini Bridwell, 1832 (= Subfamily Kytorhininae) ** '' Kytorhinus'' Fischer von Waldheim, 1809 * Tribe Pachymerini Bridwell, 1929 (= Subfamily Pachymerinae) ** Subtribe Caryedontina Bridwell, 1929 (= Tribe Caryedontini) *** '' Aforedon'' Decelle, 1965 *** '' Caryedon'' Schoenherr, 1823 *** '' Caryotrypes'' Decelle, 1968 *** '' Exoctenophorus'' Decelle, 1968 *** '' Mimocaryedon'' Decelle, 1968 ** Subtribe Caryopemina Bridwell, 1929 (= Tribe Caryomepini) *** '' Caryopemon'' Jekel, 1855 *** '' Diedobruchus'' Pic, 1913 *** '' Protocaryopemon'' Borowiec, 1987 ** Subtribe Pachymerina Bridwell, 1929 (= Tribe Pachymerini) *** '' Butiobruchus'' Prevett, 1966 *** '' Caryobruchus'' Bridwell, 1929 *** '' Caryoborus'' Schoenherr, 1833 *** '' Pachymerus'' Thunberg, 1805 ***†'' Mesopachymerus'' Poinar, 2005 Canadian amber,

Campanian The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous Epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campani ...

* Tribe Rhaebini Chapuis, 1874 (= Subfamily Rhaebinae) ** '' Rhaebus'' Fischer von Waldheim, 1824 * Tribe † Myanmaropini Legalov ''et al.'', 2020 **†'' Myanmarops'' Legalov ''et al.'', 2020

Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. The ...

, Myanmar,

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in ...

Notes

References

* John M. Kingsolver, "Bruchidae", in

Ross H. Arnett, Jr. Ross Harold Arnett Jr. (April 13, 1919 – July 16, 1999) was an American entomologist noted for his studies of beetles, and as founder of the ''Coleopterist's Bulletin''. Born in Medina, New York, he was a star student at Cornell University, wher ...

and

Michael C. Thomas Michael Charles Thomas (May 5, 1948 – October 14, 2019) was an American entomologist who co-authored the book series '' American Beetles''. Born in Miami, Florida, Thomas graduated from the University of South Florida in 1970 with a Bachelor ...

, ''

American Beetles ''American Beetles'' is the single most comprehensive description of the beetles of North America north of the tropical area of Mexico. It was started by Ross H. Arnett, Jr. as an update of his classic ''The Beetles of the United States''; along w ...

'' (CRC Press, 2002), vol. 2 (note that this reference itself indicates the group is a subfamily, and the change was made only after the chapter was written)

External links

BRUCHBASE
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q217617, from2=Q13167641 Storage pests

Genera

See also

Notes

References

External links