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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Curculionoidea » Primitive Weevils (Brentidae) » Brentinae » Sweet Potato Weevil (Cyladini) » Cylas » Sweet Potato Weevil (Cylas formicarius)

Species Cylas formicarius - Sweet Potato Weevil

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Cylas formicarius (Fabricius) - Cylas formicarius

Please help to identify. Thanks! - Cylas formicarius

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 Brentidae (Primitive Weevils)

Subfamily Brentinae

Tribe Cyladini (Sweet Potato Weevil)

Genus Cylas

Species formicarius (Sweet Potato Weevil)

Other Common Names

Sweet potato borer (larva)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Cylas formicarius (Fabricius)

Orig. Comb: Brentus formicarius Fabricius 1798

Syn: C. elegantulus (Summers)

Numbers

1 Nearctic sp.

Size

5-6 mm

Identification

Det. M. A. Quinn, 2012

Range

adventive NM-FL / W. Indies / C. to S. Amer. / Hawaii - Map (1)(2), introduced from Old World

Season

Jun-Sept in TX (BG data)

Food

sweet potato pest, also on bayhops - Ipomoea pes-caprae (Convolvulaceae) (1)

Life Cycle

Larvae bore in sweet potatoes. Tiny white eggs are laid in punctures made in vines near ground, or even in stored potatoes. Larvae burrow in and feed for 2-3 weeks, then pupate in a burrow (3).

Remarks

First noted in the United States in Louisiana in 1875.

Considered invasive in this country. (Capinera, John L. North American Vegetable Pests. The Pattern of Invasion. American Entomologist. Spring 2002)

Print References

Dillon, pp. 751-752, plate 76 (4)

Papp, pp. 261-262, fig. 867 (3)

Reinhard HJ. 1923. The sweet potato weevil. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 308. 90 pp.

Internet References

Featured Creatures - John L. Capinera, University of Florida, 2018

Works Cited

1.	A distributional checklist of the beetles (Coleoptera) of Florida. Peck & Thomas. 1998. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville. 180 pp.

2.	Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)

3.	Introduction to North American Beetles Charles S. Papp. 1984. Entomography Pubns.

4.	A Manual of Common Beetles of Eastern North America Dillon, Elizabeth S., and Dillon, Lawrence. 1961. Row, Peterson, and Company.

Contributed by Phillip Harpootlian on 27 July, 2006 - 7:10am
Additional contributions by cotinis, Beatriz Moisset, Mike Quinn
Last updated 6 August, 2023 - 3:39pm

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