| Neutral | wallaby1 | On Jul 7, 2008, wallaby1 from Lincoln
United Kingdom
(Zone 8a) wrote:This weevil is sometimes called a Nettle Weevil, it's main food being Urticae dioica.
It is larger at 7-9mm than two similar species in the UK, P. virideaeris to 4.5mm and P. roboretanus to 3.5mm.
The base colour is black, usually with black legs, all covered in metallic scales of green to blue-green with gold to coppery sheen, The scales become worn off with age, revealing more black.
The femora have a 'tooth' most noticeable on the front legs, and are rounded.
Antennae are dark, can be covered in scales, have a bronze colour at the base and sometimes at the tips.
The 'scrobe' or entry point of antennae to the head on Phyllobius are straight, where on the similar genus Polydrusus it is curved.
These can be very easily mistaken for other similar genus and species, the main ID points should be noted with care.
Information from Biological Sciences, University of Paisley.
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