weevil - Sphenophorus pontederiae

bold call, but i feel pretty good about it

Moved from Billbugs.

… v belov, 21 December, 2016 - 2:45pm

keeping it for now, just in case... who knows

… v belov, 7 December, 2013 - 11:44am

Sphenophorus sp.

do you have a straight dorsal shot to add, by any chance? even an imperfect one would help a lot to further narrow down the ID

… v belov, 7 December, 2013 - 11:04am

Sphenophorus weevil

With your help I looked up Sphenophorus in an insect guide book (Stephen Marshall's Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity) and I think it is Timothy billbug: Sphenophorus zeae.

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction.

Ron Goor

… Ron Goor, 7 December, 2013 - 11:44am

S. zeae looks very different and can be ruled out offhand

Marshall's book does not cover se. US, let alone Florida, where 25 Sphenophorus spp. are known to occur(1); there is absolutely no chance species of this genus can be determined using that book -- this is one of the most difficult groups where species IDs take a lot of experience and a vast reference collection; even then some specimens prove unIDable

… v belov, 7 December, 2013 - 11:58am

weevil from Paynes Prairie Gainesville FL

Alas, I have only this view and another side view from the opposite side.

Thanks for helping out/

Ron Goor

… Ron Goor, 7 December, 2013 - 11:32am

that's a pity :/

the bug doesn't look like any of the common species i'm familiar with, and i would love to know what it is...

if you want a beetle ID'd, taking a straight dorsal view makes all the difference and is well worth extra effort; other angles may help (for weevils, a head profile is often a plus indeed) but, if posted w/o a dorsal habitus, are of little, if any, diagnostic value

… v belov, 7 December, 2013 - 11:38am