leaf-rolling weevil

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leaf-rolling weevil

insect

Also known as: Attelabidae

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Related Topics:: Curculionoidea

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leaf-rolling weevil, (family Attelabidae), any member of a subgroup of the weevil family, Curculionidae (insect order Coleoptera) whose females protect newly laid eggs by rolling them up inside a growing leaf. After hatching, the larvae eat the leaf from within. Adults are generally small (3–6 mm [0.12 to 0.24 inch]) and black, red, or black and red. Adults are free-living but associated with certain tree species. Attelabus nitens, for example, is associated with oak, and Rhynchites populi with poplar. Two species of leaf-rolling weevils lay their eggs in hazel trees: R. betuleti, which rolls the whole leaf, and Apoderus coryli, which rolls only one side of the leaf.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.