Otiorhynchus is a large genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of 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...

s in the family 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...

. Many species of the genus, particularly the black vine weevil

Black vine weevil

Otiorhynchus sulcatus, commonly known as the black vine weevil, is native to Europe, but common in North America as well. It is a pest of many garden plants.-Overview:...

 (O. sulcatus) and the strawberry root weevil

Otiorhynchus ovatus

Otiorhynchus ovatus, also called the Strawberry Root Weevil, is one of the many species in the weevil family . Its name comes from its affinity for strawberry plants, which form a large part of its diet. They are, however, known to feed on other plants as well...

 (O. ovatus), are important pests, both as larvae and as adults. Larvae feed on plant roots. Adults are flightless with fused elytra and feed at night on plant foliage. In many species of the genus at least some races

Race (biology)

In biology, races are distinct genetically divergent populations within the same species with relatively small morphological and genetic differences. The populations can be described as ecological races if they arise from adaptation to different local habitats or geographic races when they are...

 are polyploid and parthenogenetic, while the rest of the races and species are diploid and bisexual

Bisexual (disambiguation)

Bisexual may refer to:*Bisexuality, in human sexuality, describes a man or woman that is sexually or romantically attracted to persons of both sexes*Bisexual characteristics, having an ambiguous sexual identity Bisexual may refer to:*Bisexuality, in human sexuality, describes a man or woman that is...

. Otiorhynchus weevils, particularly O. scaber, have been a popular subject for studies of the evolution of parthenogenesis. The genus is native to the Palearctic

Palearctic

The Palearctic or Palaearctic is one of the eight ecozones dividing the Earth's surface.Physically, the Palearctic is the largest ecozone...

 region. However, sixteen species were inadvertently introduced to North America

Nearctic

The Nearctic is one of the eight terrestrial ecozones dividing the Earth's land surface.The Nearctic ecozone covers most of North America, including Greenland and the highlands of Mexico...

 and have become widespread there. Due to their parthenogenesis, for all of them except O. ligneus, O. meridionalis and O. porcatus only female weevils have been found in North America.

Partial Species List

• Otiorhynchus alpicola
• Otiorhynchus arcticus
• Otiorhynchus cribricollis
  Otiorhynchus cribricollis
  Otiorhynchus cribricollis is one of the many species in the weevil family . It is native to the Mediterranean and a pest of apple orchards and vineyards in Western Australia....
  
  
• Otiorhynchus cuneiformis Waterhouse
• Otiorhynchus dieckmanni
• Otiorhynchus frater Styerlyn, 1861
• Otiorhynchus ligneus
• Otiorhynchus ligustici
• Otiorhynchus meridionalis
• Otiorhynchus morio
  Otiorhynchus morio
  Otiorhynchus morio is one of the many species in the weevil family . It was first described by German entomologist Ernst Friedrich Germar in 1824.-External links:*...
  
  Germar, 1824
• Otiorhynchus ovatus
  Otiorhynchus ovatus
  Otiorhynchus ovatus, also called the Strawberry Root Weevil, is one of the many species in the weevil family . Its name comes from its affinity for strawberry plants, which form a large part of its diet. They are, however, known to feed on other plants as well...
  
  Linnaeus, 1758
• Otiorhynchus porcatus
• Otiorhynchus raucus
• Otiorhynchus sulcatus
• Otiorhynchus scaber