weevil

/ˈwivəl/

/ˈwivəl/

Other forms: weevils

A weevil is a type of small beetle with a distinctively long snout. Because some species of weevils are famous for destroying large amounts of crops or stored grains, weevils are usually considered pests.

There are thousands of weevil species, nearly all of which feed only on plants. These little insects have caused a lot of trouble over the years. In the early 1900s, cotton fields in the South became infested with nonnative boll weevils, which devour cotton buds and flowers. Over the years, weevils have cost farmers billions of dollars in lost crops — and if you've ever been horrified to find tiny bugs in your rice or flour, they were probably weevils. But many weevil species are beneficial to humans, serving as pollinators and weed control.

Definitions of weevil

1. noun

   any of several types of beetles with a long snout, often considered pests because they feed on crops and plant products
   types:

   snout beetle

   small weevil having a prolonged snout; destructive to e.g. grains and nuts

   Anthonomus grandis, boll weevil

   greyish weevil that lays its eggs in cotton bolls destroying the cotton

   darkling beetle, darkling groung beetle, tenebrionid

   sluggish hard-bodied black terrestrial weevil whose larvae feed on e.g. decaying plant material or grain

   seed beetle, seed weevil

   a small beetle that infests the seeds of legumes

   Sitophylus oryzae, black weevil, rice weevil

   brown weevil that infests stored grain especially rice

   flour beetle, flour weevil

   an insect that infests flour and stored grains

   Bruchus pisorum, pea weevil

   larvae live in and feed on seeds of the pea plant

   Acanthoscelides obtectus, bean weevil

   larvae live in and feed on growing or stored beans

   type of:

   beetle

   insect having biting mouthparts and front wings modified to form horny covers overlying the membranous rear wings