The beak is feebly curved and longer than the prothorax. Adults emerge from June 
to August. The eggs, like those of C. naso, are deposited in damaged, cracked, 
sprouted, or previously infested acorns. The larval stage lasts 10 to 30 days. The 
first winter is spent as a larva in the soil; the second, as an adult beneath leaves on 
the ground (476). 
Other common eastern species of Conotrachelus include: C. juglandis LeConte, 
which breeds in the nuts, stems, and leaf petioles of a number of species of Juglans; 
C. retentus (Say), which attacks the nuts of black walnut and butternut; C. affinis 
Boheman and C. hicoriae Schoof, two closely related species that are difficult to 
separate and which breed in hickory nuts; C. aratus (Germar), which attacks young 
shoots and leaf petioles of hickory; C. anaglyptius (Say), which breeds in the 
tissues around fresh wounds on various deciduous trees including hickory, birch, 
maple, and oak; and C. elegans (Say), which breeds in Phylloxera galls on hickory 
leaves. Another weevil, Anthonomus suturalis LeConte, also develops in Phyllox- 
era galls on hickory and pecan (467). 
The subfamilies Rhynchophorinae and Cossoninae are placed in the family 
Rhynchophoridae by some authors. 
Rhynchophorus cruentatus (F.), the palmetto billbug, occurs from North Car- 
olina to Florida and Louisiana and breeds in the trunks of weakened palm trees and 
cabbage palmettos. The adult has a red thorax with black margins, shiny black wing 
covers, fringes of long yeilowish hairs on the legs, and is about 30 mm long. It 
feeds on bruised terminal buds or on sap exuding from wounded or recently felled 
trees. 
The subfamily Cossoninae, the broad-nosed bark weevils, contains several 
genera and many species. A number of species breed in the sapwood of hardwoods 
and conifers killed by bark beetles; others, some of which are important pests, 
breed in the woodwork of buildings. The larvae of all species cut meandering 
galleries across the grain of the wood and pack them tightly with granular frass 
except for that portion immediately behind their bodies. Adults may be found in the 
wood, but they usually occur under the bark about a year after the tree 1s killed. The 
larvae of a number of species have been described (24). 
Several species in the genus Cossonus breed in the sapwood of bark-beetle killed 
trees. C. corticola Say, a shiny black species—under the bark of dying pines; C. 
platalea Say, a flat, shiny black species—under the bark of hardwoods; C. im- 
pressus Boheman, a dull black species—in the sapwood of both conifers and 
hardwood (reported from Florida); and C. concinnus Boheman—under the bark of 
hardwoods. 
Species of Cossoninae that attack and damage wood in buildings deposit their 
eggs in crevices in the wood. Adults of certain species reattack the wood from 
which they emerge, thus intensifying the damage they already caused. The more 
important eastern species are as follows: Hexarthrum ulkei Horn—damages wood- 
work in old buildings, often reducing the wood to powder; Jomolips quercicola 
Boheman—damages seasoned coniferous wood such as pine flooring and pecky- 
cypress paneling; and Pselactus spadix (Herbst)— occasionally damages damp 
wood beneath buildings and saltwater pilings above the high watermark. 
Dryophthorus americanus Bedel occurs very commonly in hickory killed by the 
hickory bark beetle. Stenoscelis brevis Boheman is common in dead, dying, and 
rotting hardwoods. 
Family Scolytidae 
The family Scolytidae comprises a large, diverse, and important group of 
beetles. A small segment of the family is actually responsible for its bad reputation; 
337 
