Subspecies
Original
description
Synonyms
Apion frumentarium (Linnaeus,
1758
Curculio sanguineum DeGeer, 1775
Apion miniatum auct. nec Germar, 1833
(misidentification)
Further German names: Menningroter
Ampfer-Spitzmaulrüssler
Identification
Distribution
Recorded in most of Europe and
east to central Asia. Widely distributed in
Germany and a very common species.
Biology
Prefers moist habitats, e.g. wet
meadows or the shores of streams or ponds. The
larvae and imagines feed on different species
of the genus Rumex (docks and sorrels) and
Emex. In spring and early summer, the females
deposit their eggs into self-drilled holes in
the upper root, stem or leaf stalk of the host
plant and seal the holes with a mix of
excrement and other secretions. The larvae
then eat tunnels in the host plant tissue
until they pupate within the plant. The next
generation ecloses in the summer or early
autumn and these imagines overwinter in the
soil around the food plant.
|
|
Specimen photographed in Göttingen
(Niedersachsen) on April 5, 2009.
|