#rose weevil

[cosmiclion]

Fuller's rose weevil

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Rose Weevil - Merhynchites bicolor

Oh, dear me! Another one of these insects have been found! Well, it’s probably not a problem at all since there’s only one and the last individual seen on our roses was found in 2018. To be clear, this insect can pose problem to the developing flower by chewing on the buds using its long snout. There could be chewed petals as a result. The Weevil’s larvae can also cause damage as they grow inside the hips (fruit) of the rose. It’s just what these Beetles do, whether the host has fruits, acorns, thistles or develops in the plant’s stalk. The fruits and nuts of a plant are a rich source of nutrients and offer a safe environment to grow larger and ready themselves for pupation. When the larva is fully grown, the youngling will drop into the soil and emerge an adult Weevil the next year. Fortunately, Fortunately, the glossy red sheen across make them easy to spot and you can shake them off your plants for easily collection. Have some gloves on, as when I got too close to this individual and it couldn’t fly away in time, it tucked in its legs and fell to the safety of the ground below. Just couldn’t grab it safely with all the thorns in the way! 

The front yard roses here should be alright, but I’m now carefully monitoring them for signs of larvae. I recommend you do the same if you find one of these insects on your roses, although short of an infestation, there shouldn’t be any problems. If you want to minimize a suspected Rose Weevil surge, you can remove rose flowers that have begun to wilt away before the fruit appears. Even a cut rose can be a suitable habitat for development, so place them in a yard waste bag for collection when you can. Monitoring your flowers for signs of adults and larvae as well would be a great help as well. Look for signs of insect activity: there could be visual damage to the flowers already or frass (insect poop) left behind by the young grubs. A telltale sign for the adults may be circular punctures in the rose petals. Though it looks very nose-like, there are tiny jaws at the end of that snout and the red snouted Beetles want easy access to pollen inside (and the flower’s innards as mentioned above). Pay close attention to the snouts when you can see them as the Weevils with elongated snouts have different lengths and widths of snout depending on whether they are female or male. I will explore this a little bit more with Friday’s Weevil post.

Pictures were taken on June 19, 2022 with a Google Pixel 4.

[obsceneindecorum]

A rose weevil showing me its fancy foot steps.

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Rose Weevil - Merhynchites bicolor

Weevils are a type of Beetle that are known for their long snouts as opposed to the larger jaws, mandibles or horns that Beetles typically have. There’s even a Weevil that has a long neck rather than a long snout in Madagascar, but I digress. All you need to know is that there are indeed Beetles with snouts, strange as it is. As for this Weevil, it finds itself in a great environment; my mother has a lot of rose bushes growing throughout our yards, but the front yard has an entire end-to-end row of rose bushes. It’s Rose Weevil paradise, but this is the first time I’ve seen one in the yard! If you’re wondering why this is highlighted, Weevils tend to be destructive when it comes to plants, but each one enjoys a specific plant in particular: some need cotton, some beans, some acorns, and this one (of course) loves roses (including blackberry and raspberry bushes, the latter of which we have in backyard)! 

They take great pleasure in eating the hips, buds and seeds of the roses. Along with eating parts of the rose, they will also lay eggs inside the flowers. The larvae will eat the seeds or reproductive organs (depending on the plant’s own growth) and will bore into the plant upon hatching, eventually exiting the plant to pupate and overwinter in the soil. With the potential to ruin our roses, I’ll be watching for their numbers now; we have enough to handle with the Sawflies on our pine bushes already. But still insects will do what they must, and there’s room for all in the yard.

Pictures were taken on July 2, 2018 with a Samsung Galaxy S4