group Curculionidae: Dryophthorinae,

which has around 1,200 species, including

the largest of all weevils, the Giant Palm

Weevil Protocerius colossus at 3 in

(7.5 cm). Dryophthorinae specialize on

monocotyledonous plants, which include

palms, grasses, pineapples, and bananas.

Several have become pests, notably the Red

Palm Weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus,

the Grain Weevil Sitophilus granarius, the

Rice Weevil Sitophilus oryzae, and the

Banana Weevil Cosmopolites sordidus

above | Rhinotia bidentata

(Belidae) From Australia,

this ancient lineage of

approximately 375 named

species is most abundant in

the southern hemisphere.

Nemonychidae, Anthribidae, Belidae, Caridae,

Attelabidae, Brentidae, and Curculionidae. Of

these, the Curclionidae is by far the largest, with over

50,000 species.

With only one or two exceptions (for example,

the curculionid genus Ludovix feeding on

grasshopper eggs, the anthribid genus Anthribus

feeding on scale insects), curculionids are plant

feeders as adults and larvae, and it is thought that

they owe their diversity to a radiation of species in

the Cretaceous period, at the same time that the

flowering plants (angiosperms) achieved global

dominance. However, weevil fossils date back

further than the Cretaceous period, and were

already numerous in the late Jurassic, possibly even

earlier. Weevils remain an ecologically important

group today, and are particularly abundant in

tropical forests.

opposite | Cercidocerus indicator

(Curculionidae: Dryophthorinae)

This male of Southeast Asia

shows impressive “windscreen-

wiper” antennae.