Rhynchodes ursus

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Rhynchodes ursus
NZ elephant weevil.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Curculionidae
Genus: Rhynchodes
Species:
R. ursus
Binomial name
Rhynchodes ursus
White, 1846[1]

Rhynchodes ursus, or elephant weevil, is a wood-boring weevil found all over New Zealand.[2] Adult weevils are found on trees, where they gather to feed on sap. Larvae tunnel into dead trunks and branches of southern beeches, rimu and Dracophyllum traversii.[1] This large weevil has a deep brown colour with two lighter bands near the side of its thorax. It has black legs with a spot of yellowish-brown hairs on each femur.[3] It has dense scales on its body, which can be hair-like. In female specimens the antennae are inserted halfway along the rostrum and nearer the front in males.[1] The larvae of Rhynchodes ursus are the host of New Zealand's largest parasitic wasp, Certonotus fractinervis. Female wasps use a long ovipositor to lay eggs inside the larvae whilst they develop inside trees.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Lyal, Chris (1993). "Cryptorhynchinae" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 29. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Weevil (Elephant) Rhynchodes ursus". T.E.R:R.A.I.N - Taranaki Educational Resource: Research, Analysis and Information Network. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  3. ^ Richardson, John & Gray, John Edward (1844–1875). The zoology of the voyage of the H.M.S. Erebus & Terror, under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross, during the years 1839 to 1843. London: E. W. Janson. p. 16. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
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