Two beetles for ID please.

[Suzanne B]

I saw lots of these on an unknown plant in my allotment.

This one was about 9mm.



And this was a darker one



In my book they look like the Phyllobius pomaceus, especially as older ones lose their colour and look black, but as always, I am very unsure and wondered if someone could help with the id's.

Thanks

[dmclean3]

Hi Suzanne,
I think your first pic is of a Pea Weevil - Sitona lineatus, they have very prominant eyes, and probably the other pic as well, you are right in saying the colour rubs off as they get older
check it out on line for more onfo,
Duncan

[Suzanne B]

Thanks for your quick reply Duncan.
That gives me something to go on now.
There are so many types of 'everything' it gets quite boggling sometimes and I get confused as to where to start looking. I'll go and check the Pea Weevil out now.
Thank you.
Suzanne

[paul m]

There are quite a lot of Sitona spp, manyof wich are pests. They're characterised by the relatively blunt 'nose' (rostrum) and brownish scales which, as you note, rub off with age - you can still see some at the hind end of your second photograph. The plant that they're eating often gives a good clue to the species so might be worth identifying that.

Originally Posted by Suzanne B

Thanks for your quick reply Duncan.
That gives me something to go on now.
There are so many types of 'everything' it gets quite boggling sometimes and I get confused as to where to start looking. I'll go and check the Pea Weevil out now.
Thank you.
Suzanne

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitona

[Suzanne B]

Thanks Paul.

This is the plant they were on.





I wonder if anyone can ID it from these photos?
It hasn't got any buds or flowers on yet (if it gets them) so I'll keep my eye on it for future clues.

[H Dogg]

1. Phyllobius spp looks like p.pyri but this species is very hard to ID from a photo as it is so variable.

2. Phyllobius spp could be the same species, since its feeding on the same plant, morphology, colour look the same, just this one is heavily worn.

This species has a massive range of plants that it feeds on.

[Suzanne B]

Thanks H Dogg.
I never realised there are so many types of weevils till I started this thread.
It even said on one site there are more than 500 different types in Britain.
Thanks for all the help and I shall be happy to settle on Phyllobius spp.

I was just thinking though that like some spiders do some of the weevils only have latin names as well?

[paul m]

Many weevils (indeed, other beetles and insects) only get common names when they're pests (pea weevil etc.) and in many cases these are just translations of the Latin. P. pyri must originally been considered a pest of pears but, as H Dogg mentioned, it is found on a vast number of woody plants:
Phyllobius pyri (L., 1758) (Common Leaf Weevil)

If it's any help, the plantlet looks to be a young Prunus sp plant, maybe: perhaps a cherry seedling or a sucker from blackthorn?

Originally Posted by Suzanne B

Thanks H Dogg.
I never realised there are so many types of weevils till I started this thread.
It even said on one site there are more than 500 different types in Britain.
Thanks for all the help and I shall be happy to settle on Phyllobius spp.

I was just thinking though that like some spiders do some of the weevils only have latin names as well?