By Cara McCreary (Greenhouse Vegetable IPM Specialist, OMAFRA), Hannah Fraser (Entomologist — Horticulture, OMAFRA), and Amanda Tracey (Vegetable Crops Specialist, OMAFRA)
1. Photo of insects trapped on a yellow sticky card, one of which is a pepper weevil.
Can you identify pepper weevil?
Pepper weevil, Anthonomus eugenii, is an economically important pest affecting North American field and greenhouse pepper producers. Other Solanaceous species (including eggplant and nightshade weeds) can also be hosts. And we all know, there is no shortage of nightshade weeds in Ontario’s landscape!
The best methods for managing pepper weevil rely on early detection through intensive monitoring and the use of commercially available pheromone traps. However, these yellow sticky cards attract many other types of insects, including other weevils that are not pests of peppers. Many weevil species can be easily distinguished from other types of beetles. But telling weevil species apart from each other can be difficult.
So, if you find a weevil on your trap. DO NOT PANIC! Take a deep breath. Grab your hand lens (or your closest entomologist). And try to look for the features on your specimen that will either tell you it IS a pepper weevil, or it IS NOT a pepper weevil.
So…which weevil warrants worry?
Below are some examples of other species that may be caught on pheromone traps, along with some tips to help you distinguish them from pepper weevil. A hand lens or magnifying glass is helpful when looking for smaller details. Note that some features may be hard to see when weevils are glued to traps.
2. Photo of Anthonomus eugenii (pepper weevil) and identifying features including: brown-mahogany colour; spurs on underside of all 6 femurs; oval shaped body, with strongly arched back; scales (hairs) on body and wing covers; dense patch of white scales at top of wing covers; and 2–3.5 mm length from head to tip of abdomen.
3. Photo of Anthonomus signatus (strawberry clipper weevil) and identifying features including: thin covering of scales; spots on wing covers; patch of white scales at top of wing covers; oval body shape; and 2–3 mm length from head to tip of abdomen. Main hosts is strawberry, but may also feed on raspberry and blackberry.
4. Photo of Tychius meliloti (sweet clover weevil) and identifying features including: brown body colour; concentrated white scales at top of wing covers and down centerline; lower leg segments are orange-brown; elongated-oval body shape; thick covering of yellow and white scales; and 1.7–2.5 mm length from head to tip of abdomen. Hosts include yellow and white sweet clovers.
5. Photo of Tychius picirostris (clover seed weevil) and identifying features including: dark greenish-brown to black body colour; lower leg segments are orange-brown; thick white scales on dark greenish-brown body; elongated-oval body shape; and 1.7–2.1 mm length from head to tip of abdomen. Hosts include white and alsike clovers.
6. Photo of Ceutorhynchus erysimi and identifying features including: black body with metallic blue-green wing covers; shiny body and wing covers; no noticeable scales; round, squat body shape; and 1.8–2.7 mm length from head to tip of abdomen. Hosts include plants belonging to the family Brassicaceae, including mustards.
7. Photo of Ceutorhynchus typhae and identifying features including: concentrated white scales at top of wing covers and down centerline; thin covering of white scales on body; round squat body shape; and 1.5–2.1 mm length from head to tip of abdomen. Hosts include plants belonging to the family Brassicaceae, including mustards.
8. Photo of Ceutorhynchus rapae and identifying features including: thick covering of white scales on black body (body appears grey colour); snout is long, narrow and downward-curved; round, squat body shape; and 2.7–3.2 mm length from head to tip of abdomen. Hosts include plants belonging to the family Brassicaceae, including mustards & cruciferous vegetables.
