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Species Rhyssomatus lineaticollis - Milkweed Stem Weevil

weevil on milkweed - Rhyssomatus lineaticollis beetle - Rhyssomatus lineaticollis Rhyssomatus lineaticollis (Say) - Rhyssomatus lineaticollis Rhyssomatus sp.? - Rhyssomatus lineaticollis Withering, clasping milkweed - Rhyssomatus lineaticollis drinking the milkweed milk - Rhyssomatus lineaticollis Pennsylvania Beetle for ID - Weevil - Rhyssomatus lineaticollis Curculionidae Rhyssomatus lineaticollis? Snout and bark beetle - Rhyssomatus lineaticollis
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)
Superfamily Curculionoidea
Family Curculionidae (Snout and Bark Beetles)
Subfamily Molytinae
Genus Rhyssomatus
Species lineaticollis (Milkweed Stem Weevil)
Other Common Names
Common Milkweed Stem Weevil
Explanation of Names
Rhyssomatus lineaticollis (Say 1824)
Size
5.5–6.5 mm(1)
Range
QC‒FL to ON‒ND‒TX‒UT(2)(3)
Habitat
prairies and pastures
Food
hosts: Asclepias spp.(4)(5); adults feed on leaves, stems, buds, and pods(6)(7):
Life Cycle
Adults initially feed on apical leaves; females then walk to lower parts of the stem and chew a series of holes, creating a scar, then lay one egg per hole; larvae complete development inside the stem feeding on pith. (Agrawal 2005)
Remarks
Rh. lineaticollis reduces the growth of Labidomera clivicollis and Danaus plexippus(8)
Works Cited
1.Weevils of South Carolina (Coleoptera: Nemonychidae, Attelabidae, Brentidae, Ithyceridae, and Curculionidae).
Janet C. Ciegler. 2010. Clemson University, Clemson, S.C. 276 pp.
2.Checklist of beetles (Coleoptera) of Canada and Alaska. Second edition
Bousquet Y., Bouchard P., Davies A.E., Sikes D.S. 2013. ZooKeys 360: 1–402.
3.Annotated checklist of the weevils (Curculionidae sensu lato) of North America, Central America, and the West Indies...
O'Brien C.W., Wibmer G.J. 1982. Mem. Am. Ent. Inst. 34: x+382 pp.
4.Insect herbivores of 12 milkweed (Asclepias) species.
Betz, R.F., W.R. Rommel & J.J. Dichtl. 2000. Pp. 7-19. In: C. Warwick (ed.). Proceedings of the 15th North American Prairie Conference, Natural Areas Association, Bend, OR.
5.Life history evolution in seven milkweeds of the genus Asclepias.
Wilbur, H.M. 1976. The Journal of Ecology, 64(1): 223–240.
6.Milkweed, Monarchs and More: A Field Guide to the Invertebrate Community in the Milkweed Patch
Ba Rea, Karen Oberhauser, Michael Quinn. 2003. Bas Relief Publishing Group.
7.Rhynchophora or weevils of North Eastern America
Blatchley and Leng. 1916. Nature Publishing Co., Indianapolis, Indiana. 682 pp.
8.Insect Ecology: Behavior, Populations and Communities
P. W. Price, R. F. Denno, M. D. Eubanks. 2011. Cambridge University Press.