Subject: Bug in the trunk
Geographic location of the bug: Santa Ana, CA
Date: 08/23/2019
Time: 11:54 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: This was hanging out inside my trunk. I used a twig to detach it, but it was holding on with super strength.
How you want your letter signed: Mike Michika
Diaprepes Root Weevil
Dear Mike,
This is an invasive Diaprepes Root Weevil, Diaprepes abbreviatus, and according to the Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: “The diaprepes root weevil damages both the leaves and the roots of plants. The adult weevils damage leaves by chewing semi-circular areas out of the leaf margin. There may also be frass or weevil droppings near the areas that have been fed upon. The grub-like larva feeds on the roots of a plant, weakening or killing a plant.” According to the Center for Invasive Species Research: “This pest has a very wide host range, attacking more than 270 species of plants in 59 plant families. In Florida citrus groves, Diaprepes root damage allows, Phytophthora, a very serious and often lethal plant pathogen to invade roots further hastening the decline of trees.”
The post Diaprepes Root Weevil appeared first on What's That Bug?.
