The Attelabidae is a widespread family of

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. They are among the primitive weevils, because of their straight antennae, which are inserted near the base of the rostrum. The

prothorax The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum ( dorsal), the prosternum ( ventral), and the propleuron ( lateral) o ...

is much narrower than the base of 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 ...

on the abdomen. Attelabidae and the related family

Rhynchitidae The tooth-nosed snout weevils, Rhynchitidae, are small beetles (1.5 to 6.5 mm) that are usually found in vegetation. They usually use buds, fruits, or seeds for oviposition. The tooth-nosed snout weevils receive this name due to the teeth on ...

are known commonly as the leaf-rolling weevils.Legalov, A. A. (2004)
New data of the leaf-rolling weevils (Coleoptera: Rhynchitidae, Attelabidae) of the world fauna with description of 35 new taxons.
''Baltic Journal of Coleopterology'' 4(1) 63-88. Rhynchitidae may be treated as subfamily Rhynchitinae of the Attelabidae. Some members of this family have long necks and may be called

giraffe weevil The giraffe weevil (''Trachelophorus giraffa'') is a weevil found in Southern Africa, India, south-east Asia. Description and ecology It derives its name from an extended neck, much like that of a giraffe. The giraffe weevil is sexually dimor ...

s, particularly '' Trachelophorus giraffa''. A few species are minor

agricultural pests A pest is any animal or plant harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environ ...

. The larvae of Rhynchitinae feed in flower buds, fruits, and terminal shoots, or are

leaf miner A leaf miner is any one of numerous species of insects in which the larval stage lives in, and eats, the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths ( Lepidoptera), sawflies ( Symphyta, the mother clade of wasp ...

s. The subfamily Attelabinae are the true leaf rollers. The female cuts slits into leaves to deposit her eggs, and rolls that part of the leaf in which the larvae will feed.

Taxonomy

Selected genera

*''

Apoderus ''Apoderus'' is a genus of leaf-rolling beetles belonging to the family Attelabidae subfamily Attelabinae. Selected species * ''Apoderus coryli'' (Linnaeus, 1758) - Hazel Leaf-roller Weevil * ''Apoderus erythropterus ''Apoderus'' is a genus ...

'' *''

Attelabus ''Attelabus'' is a genus of weevils belonging to the family Attelabidae. Species These species are members of the genus ''Attelabus'', found in Europe. * '' Attelabus abdominalis'' Angelov, 1964 * '' Attelabus abyssinicus'' Hustache, 1923 * '' ...

'' *'' Cycnotrachelus'' *'' Eleuscelus'' *''

Euops ''Euops'' is a genus of the leaf-rolling weevils (family Attelabidae) containing more than 300 species. It is spread over most tropical and subtropical regions but is missing from America. The centre of its radiation is New Guinea and Australia ...

'' *'' Paralleuscelus'' *'' Pareleuscelus'' *'' Pheleuscelus'' *'' Sawadaeuops'' *'' Suniops''Legalov, A. A. and N. Liu. (2005)
New leaf-rolling weevils (Coleoptera: Rhynchitidae, Attelabidae) from China.
''Baltic Journal of Coleopterology'' 5(2) 99-132. *''

Trachelophorus ''Trachelophorus'' is a genus of weevils in the leaf-rolling weevil family Attelabidae The Attelabidae is a widespread family of weevils. They are among the primitive weevils, because of their straight antennae, which are inserted near the b ...

Tree

The

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

position of the family within the Curculionoidea based on 18S

ribosomal DNA Ribosomal DNA (rDNA) is a DNA sequence that codes for ribosomal RNA. These sequences regulate transcription initiation and amplification, and contain both transcribed and non-transcribed spacer segments. In the human genome there are 5 chromo ...

and morphological data can be illustrated in a tree:

References

External links

Bugguide

on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site Beetle families {{Attelabidae-stub