species has been implicated in excessive forking of sugar maple. The adults also 
feed on petioles and shoots. Females are active from June through September. 
No males have been reported. The larvae of both these species feed on roots of 
plants on which the adults are found (/089, /343). 
All the species of the genus Otiorhynchus in North America have been intro- 
duced. The two species of greatest importance to eastern trees and shrubs, the 
black vine weevil, O. sulcatus (F.), and the strawberry root weevil, O. ovatus (L.), 
are thought to have arrived early in the 19th century. Both species are par- 
thenogenetic and flightless (/249). 
Adults of the black vine weevil are brownish black and 9 to 12 mm long. The 
prothorax is rough with rounded tubercles, each of which has a curved yellow hair. 
The elytra are also tuberculate with scattered tufts of metallic-yellow scales. It feeds 
on more than 100 plant species including yew, spruce, rhododendron, hemlock, and 
grape (/249). The adults eat foliage, buds, and shoots, but the greatest damage is 
done by larvae in nursery and container plantings. In summer and fall young larvae 
feed on rootlets. The following spring older larvae eat the cortex of larger roots 
causing severe injury or death to the plant. Often the injury is not apparent until the 
plant is transplanted. 
Adult emergence usually begins about mid-June. They are nocturnal feeders so 
spend the day in secluded places, frequently in the litter beneath the host plant. The 
eggs are laid on the ground. Larvae develop through the summer and following 
spring and pupate in cells down to 20 cm below the surface (929). There is one 
generation a year (//04). 
The strawberry root weevil is a shiny dark-brown or black weevil. The elytra are 
covered with fine yellow setae. It resembles O. sulcatus but is smaller, about 5.5 
mm long. More widely distributed than O. sulcatus, it has been collected in most 
States in the United States, including Alaska, and the provinces of Canada. 
Arborvitae is the preferred host of the adults, and twig girdling may cause severe 
injury. Hemlock is less often attacked. White, red, Scotch, and Swiss mountain 
pines, juniper, and Norway, white, and Colorado blue spruces have been reported as 
hosts. The larvae prefer the roots of hemlock (462). In some places this species may 
have two generations a year. Occasionally, during the summer, large numbers of 
adults invade dwellings causing much distress, but no damage. 
Because higher populations of these two weevils can cause heavy losses in 
nurseries and to ornamental plants, some control may have to be employed. Some 
insecticides, for foliar application, have been registered for these weevils. 
Polydrusus impressifrons (Gyllenhal), first recorded in New York State in 1906, 
feeds on various hardwoods, chiefly willow, poplar, birch, apple, pear, and plum in 
New York and Connecticut, and possibly adjoining states. The adult is rather 
slender, 4 to 5.5 mm long, and uniformly light metallic-green. Eggs are deposited 
around scars and beneath loose flakes of bark in roughened areas. The cut ends of 
pruned branches and twigs of young trees are especially attractive oviposition sites. 
After hatch, larvae drop to the soil and feed on roots. Pupation occurs in the soil, 
and adults appear from mid-May to early June. They feed on developing buds, 
foliage, and succulent shoots. In heavy infestations, defoliation may be severe, and 
large numbers of stems may be girdled and killed. Damage is usually most serious 
in nurseries (960). 
Brachyderes incanus (L.), an introduced species, has been recorded from Mas- 
sachusetts and Long Island. Its hosts are various species of pine. The adults feed on 
the needles; and the larvae, on the roots. Adults are brownish, with metallic 
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