The gray sunflower seed weevil Smicronyx sordidus is a species of weevils from a family of Curculionidae.

Smicronyx sordidus
Smicronyx sordidus, grey sunflower seed weevil, Nebraska
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Curculionidae
Subfamily: Curculioninae
Genus: Smicronyx
Species:
S. sordidus
Binomial name
Smicronyx sordidus
LeConte, 1876

Description

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Adult beetles are 8 millimetres (0.31 in) long, and pale gray.

Ecology and habitat

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The species life cycle is only a year long. Both sexes eat sunflower buds, and often before they open. Sometimes they eat plant tissues. Females like the flowers whose buds are about to hatch, therefore, they can lay their eggs at the bottom of the seed. When they hatch, a larva emerges from them, destroying the seed from inside. On the later stages the larvae exit the seeds by dropping to the ground, where they hide during winter time. They reproduce every June.[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ Ecology of the species
  2. ^ "GBIF, Smicronyx sordidus". Retrieved 2024-08-25.
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