The gray sunflower seed weevil Smicronyx sordidus is a species of weevils from a family of Curculionidae.
| Smicronyx sordidus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Smicronyx sordidus, grey sunflower seed weevil, Nebraska | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Curculionidae |
| Subfamily: | Curculioninae |
| Genus: | Smicronyx |
| Species: | S. sordidus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Smicronyx sordidus LeConte, 1876
| |
Description
editAdult beetles are 8 millimetres (0.31 in) long, and pale gray.
Ecology and habitat
editThe species life cycle is only a year long. Both sexes eat sunflower buds, and often before they open. Sometimes they eat plant tissues. Females like the flowers whose buds are about to hatch, therefore, they can lay their eggs at the bottom of the seed. When they hatch, a larva emerges from them, destroying the seed from inside. On the later stages the larvae exit the seeds by dropping to the ground, where they hide during winter time. They reproduce every June.[1][2]
References
edit- ^ Ecology of the species
- ^ "GBIF, Smicronyx sordidus". Retrieved 2024-08-25.
External links
edit- Citizen science observations for Smicronyx sordidus at iNaturalist
Media related to Smicronyx sordidus at Wikimedia Commons
