DESCRIPTION: Up to 8mm. Also known as the Horsetail Weevil this robust looking insect is best identified by the dark head that is marked by numerous creamy white scales, the long black rostrum and the densely punctured pronotum which is quadrate with rounded lateral margins which are broadest about the middle. The elytra is black and white with noticeable striae and numerous punctuations. The legs are pubescent; dark with the tibiae often paler and the femora not toothed. BEHAVIOUR: A nocturnal species that feeds on the tips of the host plant where they are very well camouflaged. After mating, which occurs during May to August, the females use their sharp and pointed mandibles to bore holes into the stems into which they insert one or, rarely, several eggs. The larvae initially feed within the stems, moving down as they do so. The final larval stages are carried out within the rhizomes where they will also pass the winter before entering the soil to pupate. DISTRIBUTION: Widespread throughout but quite local in England and Scotland and mainly coastal in Wales. HABITAT: In areas where the host plants are found, these being Equisteum arvense (Field Horsetail) and E. palustre (Marsh Horsetail), both of which are common in wetland situations and on damp grassland in the U.K PERIOD: Can be seen from February to November but the summer months are best to catch up with this attractive insect. |
