Smicronyx fulvus
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Author(s): Frank Peairs, Colorado State University
Source: IPM Images
Smicronyx fulvus Leconte , 1876 - (red sunflower seed weevil)
This weevil is widely distributed in North America and an important pest of sunflower. The larvae feed on the kernel, reducing their oil content. The adults feed on the flowers (bracts, buds or pollen), but cause little damage. If populations reach a threshold density during the time sunflowers start to flower, treatment with pesticides is initiated by the farmers. Alternative methods for managing S. fulvus like resistant cultivars are under investigation.
There is one generation per year, with the young adults emerging from the soil in late spring or early summer. After some feeding, the females deposit eggs inside the developing seeds and usually only one larva develops per seed, less often 2. The larvae are fully grown at the end of the summer, drop to the ground and hibernate in the soil. Pupation takes place in the soil the following spring.
The adult weevils are 2½ to 3 mm long and are covered with reddish scales. After some time, the scales rub off and the weevils become darker with age.
