Species Pachylobius picivorus - Pitch-eating Weevil

Pachylobius picivorus (Germar 1824)

8-11 mm(1)(Dixon & Foltz 1990)

Similar to Hylobius but tibiae with dilated outer apical angles

e. NA (LB-FL to ON-WI-TX) - Map (1), more common in the southeast

pine forests

year-round in so. US(1)

Adults feed on young pines, especially where disturbed by fire, logging, construction.

similar to Hylobius pales. Larvae tunnel along the roots, feeding on phloem and xylem, and after 5-6 instars pupate in cells (chip cocoons) constructed in the sapwood or bark of roots (Dixon & Foltz 1990)

Adults are attracted to and breed beneath the bark of dying pine stumps or roots, sometimes to a depth of 3'. Eggs are laid in the cambial region of roots as small as 5mm in diameter. Burrowing may occur as far as 25' from the stump with small piles of soil surrounding the entrance. Newly-hatched larvae feed beneath the bark, packing their mines with frass and mine dust. The surface of the sapwood may be etched depending on the number and size of larvae as well as the size of the root.(2)

Hylobius, esp. H. pales

Fact sheet (Ellis 2008)(3)