Rhynchodes ursus, or elephant weevil, is a wood-boring weevil found all over New Zealand. Adult weevils are found on trees, where they gather to feed on sap. Larvae tunnel into dead trunks and branches of southern beeches, rimu and Dracophyllum traversii.[1] This large weevil has a deep brown colour with two lighter bands near the side of its thorax. It has black legs with a spot of yellowish-brown hairs on each femur.[2] It has dense scales on its body, which can be hair-like. In female specimens the antennae are inserted halfway along the rostrum and nearer the front in males.[1] The larvae of Rhynchodes ursus are the host of New Zealand's largest parasitic wasp, Certonotus fractinervis. Female wasps use a long ovipositor to lay eggs inside the larvae whilst they develop inside trees.[3]
| Rhynchodes ursus | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Infraorder: | Cucujiformia |
| Family: | Curculionidae |
| Genus: | Rhynchodes |
| Species: | R. ursus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Rhynchodes ursus | |
References edit
- ^ a b c Lyal, Chris (1993). "Cryptorhynchinae". Fauna of New Zealand. 29. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ^ Richardson, John & Gray, John Edward (1844–1875). The zoology of the voyage of the H.M.S. Erebus & Terror, under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross, during the years 1839 to 1843. London: E. W. Janson. p. 16. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
- ^ "Certonotus fractinervis female". Te Ara, The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 7 September 2022.