top of page

Beetles of Zihuatanejo

ORDER COLEOPTERA

Arrhenodini Straight-snouted Weevil
Arrhenodini (Tribe)

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-Beetles (Order Coleoptera​​)

-​Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf, and Snout Beetles (Suborder Polyphaga)

-​Cucujiform Beetles (Infraorder Cucujiformia)

-Weevils (Superfamily Curcuiliooidea)

-​Straight-snouted Weevils (Family Brentidae)

-Subfamily Brentinae

-Tribe Arrhenodini



The Arrhenodini tribe within the Brentidae family represents a specialized group of weevils, distinct from the more commonly known Curculionidae weevils. Brentidae, often referred to as primitive or straight-snouted weevils, are characterized by their elongated, straight snouts. Both larvae and adults are wood-borers, meaning they feed on wood tissues, particularly from decaying or dead trees.

Diet

  • Larvae: Feed within the wood of dead, dying, or weakened trees and large branches, tunnelling through decaying wood colonized by fungi.

  • Adults: Feed on tree sap, fungi, decaying wood tissues, and occasionally tender bark, depending on the species.

Range

  • The tribe Arrhenodini is distributed throughout the Americas, from southern Canada through the United States, Mexico, Central America, and into South America.

  • Several species occur throughout Mexico, including the Pacific coast of Guerrero and the Zihuatanejo region.

  • Most species inhabit forested regions.

Habitat

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical rainforests, pine-oak forests, woodland edges, and secondary forests.

  • Larvae develop inside dead logs, fallen branches, stumps, and weakened trees, especially where fungal decay has begun.

  • Adults are commonly found on tree trunks, fallen timber, and beneath loose bark.

Size

  • Adult length: 10–40 mm (0.4–1.6 in), depending on the species.

  • Body long and slender with

bottom of page