Kingdom: Animalia (Animals)
Phylum: Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class: Insecta (Insects)
Order: Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder: Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles)
Superfamily: Curculionoidea (Snout and Bark Beetles)
Family: Curculionidae (Snout and Bark Beetles)
Subfamily: Entiminae (Broad-nosed Weevils)
A weevil is any beetle from the Curculionoidea superfamily. The Curculionidae weevils, also called snout beetles is the family of the "true" weevils (or snout beetles) They are recognized by their distinctive long snout and geniculate antennae with small clubs; beyond that, curculionids have considerable diversity of form and size, with adult lengths ranging from 1 mm to 40 mm.( usually small, less than 6 millimetres).
There are 160 different families of beetles worldwide, containing over 300 000 species. The families of beetles are divided into 4 main groups or suborders, the Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga and Polyphaga. They are the largest animal family in the world with over 1540 species in New Zealand with most of then unique to here. The majority of beetles are classified into families within the Polyphaga suborder.
Weevils are almost entirely plant feeders, and most species are associated with a narrow range of hosts, in many cases only living on a single species.
Broad-nosed weevils tend to be polyphagous herbivores. The larvae of the group generally live in soil and feed on roots. Eggs are dropped, laid on soil or under plants, but never placed in plant tissues. Many spp. are parthenogenetic (several such lineages within the subfamily).
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