What Is This #AZCritter? Baridine Weevil
What Is This #AZCritter? is a new digital series from the Arizona Science Desk that wants to help you identify and learn more about interesting Arizona animals.
Have you ever seen a strange critter in Arizona you couldn’t identify? Submit it to science.kjzz.org/azcritter.
If your photo gets chosen, you’ll get a free Arizona Science Desk keychain!
What Is This #AZCritter?
Nicole sent us this photo on Twitter.
#azcritter this was taken near North Rim of Grand Canyon. pic.twitter.com/p81kc5fEJN
— nicole (@nicole44992135) August 10, 2016
What Is It?
It is a baridine weevil, likely the genus Geraeus or Odontocorynus, said Nico Franz, who studies the evolutionary history of weevils at Arizona State University.
Then Franz, who also is the curator of the ASU Hasbrouck Insect Collection, was a little apologetic.
“The photo is not adequate for further identification, which may require dissection of genitalia or seeing ‘characters on the belly.’ If I had specimens, this might take three to four hours of my workday,” he said.
Where Do They Live?
Arizona has about 35,000 weevil species and many of them look similar. All weevils are herbivores, meaning that they are plant feeders, Franz said.
“Often they feed on particular organs of a plant, for instance, flowers and pollen,” he said.
Are They Dangerous?
“They are not dangerous directly to humans,” Franz said. “In fact, they tend to be kind of slow and, dare I say, clumsy, but many species are pests on agricultural plants (so they do have an economic impact)."
