The beetle

Beetle

Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...

 subfamily Curculioninae is part of the weevil

Weevil

A weevil is any beetle from the Curculionoidea superfamily. They are usually small, less than , and herbivorous. There are over 60,000 species in several families, mostly in the family Curculionidae...

 family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Curculionidae

Curculionidae

Curculionidae is the family of the "true" weevils . It was formerly recognized in 1998 as the largest of any animal family, with over 40,000 species described worldwide at that time...

. It contains over 23,500 described species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 in 2,200 genera

Genera

Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...

, and is therefore the largest weevil subfamily known. Given that the beetle

Beetle

Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...

 order

Order (biology)

In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...

 (Coleoptera) contains about one-quarter of all known organism

Organism

In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...

s, the Curculioninae represent one of the – if not the – most successful radiations of terrestrial Metazoa.

Many weevils of this group are commonly known as flower weevils or acorn and nut weevils, after a food commonly eaten by Curculioninae larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e and imagines

Imago

In biology, the imago is the last stage of development of an insect, after the last ecdysis of an incomplete metamorphosis, or after emergence from the pupa where the metamorphosis is complete...

 – the reproductive organs of plant

Plant

Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

s.

Systematics

This large subfamily is divided into around 30 tribe

Tribe (biology)

In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...

s. Delimitation of the Curculioninae is fairly robust considering its enormous size; there is some dispute, however, in their exact boundary with the Molytinae

Molytinae

Molytinae is a subfamily of weevil described by Carl Johan Schönherr in 1823.Molytinae includes the following tribes:* Amalactini* Aminyopini* Amorphocerin* Anchonini* Cholini* Cleogonini* Conotrachelini* Cycloterini* Dinomorphini* Euderini...

. The Phrynixini and Trypetidini are also included in the Curculioninae by some authors, but more often they are considered Molytinae; conversely, the Itini are usually placed in the Curculioninae but sometimes in the Molytinae, which are also expanded by certain authors to include, among others, the whole Cryptorhynchinae

Cryptorhynchinae

The Cryptorhynchinae is a large subfamily of weevils , with some 6000 species. They are merged into the Curculioninae or Molytinae in some treatments....

. These, as well as the Ceutorhynchinae, are sometimes included in the Curculioninae as additional tribes Cryptorhynchini and Ceutorhynchini. And some genera while almost certainly Curculioninae, are too unusual and/or ancient to be easily assigned to a specific tribe.

Features used to distinguish some of the tribes are:

Pygidium Pygidium The pygidium is the posterior body part or shield of crustaceans and some other arthropods, such as insects and the extinct trilobites. It contains the anus and, in females, the ovipositor...  exposed	Acalyptini Ceutorhynchini
Foreleg femora with large triangular tooth	Camarotini
Tarsi Arthropod leg The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. Many of the terms used for arthropod leg segments are of Latin origin, and may be confused with terms for bones: coxa , trochanter , femur, tibia, tarsus, ischium, metatarsus, carpus, dactylus ,...  with one claw (not two)	Cryptoplini (including Haplonychini)
Mandibular Mandible (arthropod) thumb|250px|The mandibles of a [[Bull ant]]The mandible of an arthropod is either of a pair of mouthparts used for biting, cutting and holding food. Mandibles are often simply referred to as jaws. Mandibles are present in the extant subphyla Myriapoda , Crustacea and Hexapoda...  (chewing) motion vertical Vertical direction In astronomy, geography, geometry and related sciences and contexts, a direction passing by a given point is said to be vertical if it is locally aligned with the gradient of the gravity field, i.e., with the direction of the gravitational force at that point...  (not horizontal Horizontal plane In geometry, physics, astronomy, geography, and related sciences, a plane is said to be horizontal at a given point if it is perpendicular to the gradient of the gravity field at that point— in other words, if apparent gravity makes a plumb bob hang perpendicular to the plane at that point.In... )	some Curculionini
Prothorax Prothorax The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites are the pronotum , the prosternum , and the propleuron on each side. The prothorax never bears wings in extant insects, though some fossil groups possessed...  with lateral keels	Derelomini
Prothorax narrowed at base (ant mimic)	Erodiscini Otidocephalini
Hindleg femora Arthropod leg The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. Many of the terms used for arthropod leg segments are of Latin origin, and may be confused with terms for bones: coxa , trochanter , femur, tibia, tarsus, ischium, metatarsus, carpus, dactylus ,...  enlarged	Eugnomini (with triangular tooth) Rhamphini (swollen for jumping)
Tarsal claws fused at base	Smicronychini
Prosternum anterior to foreleg coxae Arthropod leg The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. Many of the terms used for arthropod leg segments are of Latin origin, and may be confused with terms for bones: coxa , trochanter , femur, tibia, tarsus, ischium, metatarsus, carpus, dactylus ,...  has a groove into which the rostrum Rostrum (anatomy) The term rostrum is used for a number of unrelated structures in different groups of animals:*In crustaceans, the rostrum is the forward extension of the carapace in front of the eyes....  is tucked (if groove continues posterior to coxae: Cryptorhynchinae Cryptorhynchinae The Cryptorhynchinae is a large subfamily of weevils , with some 6000 species. They are merged into the Curculioninae or Molytinae in some treatments.... )	Storeini Storeini Storeini, or flower weevils, is a tribe of true weevils . The taxonomy of this poorly known group is in disarray, and there are many contradictory sources of information about it.-References:...