Fear no weevil

Liophloeus tessulatus

While rummaging in a flowerbed this afternoon, trying to remove some of the innumerable Ground Elder plants that are running amok, I pulled my hand out and found this little creature sitting on my thumb. It's a weevil – a surprisingly big weevil known as Liophloeus tessulatus. They're typically buff or pale brown, and often speckled, like this one is, and can be as long as 10 cm (about half an inch), which is sizeable for a weevil. When I put it back on the ground, it ambled off slowly and deliberately. Since then, I've learned that they're flightless; their tiny wings are only rudimentary. Despite this, they've managed to spread across much of the UK (though they're scarcer in Scotland), and are found from lowland meadows to mountaintops. They're likewise common across much of Europe, right up to southern Scandinavia. Like all weevils, Liophloeus tessulatus is a plant-eater. Favourite foods include Creeping Thistle, Common Nettle, Cow Parsley, Hogweed, Ivy, and Colt's-foot, all of which we have in abundance in the garden. Adults are found from spring through autumn. Females will be laying their eggs on the underside of leaves from for the next month or so. The larvae will hatch a couple of weeks later and drop to the ground, burrowing into the soil to munch on roots and rhizomes until next spring. Given that they're nocturnal, I guess I was lucky to have disturbed it. Though they're undoubtedly common here (given the perfect buffet we're providing) this is the first time we've seen one; it's a new addition to the list!