COLEOPTERA > POLYPHAGA > CURCULIONOIDEA > Curculionidae

From my limited experience so far, trying to identify weevils from photos alone can be a time-consuming exercise that may only result in a possible or likely candidate rather than a positive id. I have had some help and suggestions on the FB Beetles group, but I certainly haven't had the level of feedback that I would normally get with other species. Consequently, most of the identities given here are my own assessments - hopefully they're right!

Fortunately, one of the country's weevil experts, Mark Gurney, has recognised the problems associated with trying to identify species in such a large family and, as a result, has published an outstanding series of illustrated guides that, together with online keys, make the process possible as long as the photos are well detailed and you're looking in the right guide.

His approach is based more on the general appearance of species rather than trying to deal with a long list in taxonomic order. The guides are extensive, so the first consideration is to determine the group.

Orthocerous weevil families with straight antennae:

>  Nemonychidae [1], Anthribidae [10], Attelabidae [2] and Rhynchitidae (tooth-nosed snout weevils) [18]

>  Apionidae (pear-shaped, straight-snouted weevils) [87]

True or typical weevil families, or divisions, with elbowed antennae:

>  Rhamphini flea weevils (a tribe within the Curculionidae) [20]

>  Entiminae (broad-nosed weevils) (a subfamily division of Curculionidae) [110]

    Generally larger than the average weevil, with a broad and much shortened rostrum.

>  Ceutorhynchinae (a subfamily division of Curculionidae) [93]

    Ceutorhynchs are rather short-bodied weevils, often with heart-shaped abdomens.

>  All the remaining Curculionidae species [192] and subfamilies, apart from Scolytinae (bark beetles) [64],

    plus Nanophyidae [2], Dryophthoridae [4], Erirhinidae [13] and Raymondionymidae [1]

Although this process for identification of a species may start with determining the family, it's primarily based on specific features (that may or may not be visible in photos) rather than the taxonomy. However, with the larger families particularly, it's useful to know the subfamily and tribe as they obviously group like species together. Where relevant, this information is referenced on the extended caption, visible when hovering over or clicking to enlarge a photo.

The previous page confirmed that the CURCULIONOIDEA superfamily comprises eleven weevil families as defined by the latest 'Checklist of the Beetles of the British Isles' (Duff, 2012), which is the adopted classification used by the official UK Beetle Recording scheme. Obviously with so many species, there are going to be a large number of both higher and lower levels of classification, but I think it's fair to say that weevils in general are the most difficult beetle group in this respect simply because of the number of families. The other three major groups Staphylinidae (rove beetles) [1130], Carabidae (ground beetles) [374] and Chrysomelidae (leaf beetles) [286] are all placed within a single family. So, perhaps it's worth noting that the majority of weevils are in just four families which, apart from the Erirhinidae (wetland weevils) [13] that are not yet featured on these pages, are Rhynchitidae [18] and Apionidae [87] covered on the previous page, and Curculionidae [479] which includes all the remaining species that I've photographed.

Curculionidae (as described) includes 14 subfamilies but, in order to avoid unnecessary confusion, I'm only briefly covering five; Ceutorhynchinae, Curculioninae, Entiminae, Hyperinae and Molytinae.

The Ceutorhynchinae (seed weevils) [93] subfamily are typically distinguished by having longer rostrums than the Entiminae (broad-nosed weevils), coupled with relatively short, wide wing-cases (elytra) and, when viewed from above, a prominent breast that protrudes slightly between the back corners of the pronotum and the shoulders of the wing-cases. They have a habit of tucking their rostrum between their legs when threatened or alarmed and, although other weevils may occasionally do this, it's a trait of Ceutorhynchs that is worth remembering. At present, I can only represent this particular subfamily with four species as featured below.

Curculioninae (flower, acorn and nut weevils) [109] is a large and diverse group of species that includes typical weevils with long narrow rostrums and elbowed antennae, as well as the Rhamphini flea weevils noted above. The latest checklist (Duff, 2012) places these species in 27 genera that are separated into 11 tribes. The two featured Cionus spp., are in the small Cionini tribe together with four further Cionus and a solitary Cleopus. They are very distinctive weevils that should not be mistaken, although care is needed when determining the actual species. The third species is one of six Curculio nut weevils that are grouped together in another small tribe Curculionini with two similar, although differently coloured Archarius spp. As can be seen, Curculio have very long and thin rostrums and long antennae. The female of Curculio glandium actually has the longest rostrum of any British weevil. In this species, the male has a notably shorter rostrum with antennae that are inserted nearer the tip.

Entiminae (broad-nosed weevils) [110] are covered on the following pages, where I've added a few useful notes relevant to identifying the genus of some of the species I've found.

The final two subfamilies that I'm now able to represent Hyperinae [18] and Molytinae [17] have now been relocated to the final page of this section.

Updated, Jan.25 (v.4)