Belowground-herbivory

Guides

• Otiorhynchus sulcatus

  black vine weevil, vine weevil, strawberry weevil, cyclamen weevil

  Otiorhynchus sulcatus is a parthenogenetic weevil native to the Palearctic region that has become a globally significant horticultural pest. Adults are flightless, nocturnal, and feed on foliage, producing characteristic notching damage along leaf margins. Larvae develop belowground, feeding on roots, corms, and rhizomes, causing severe plant damage or death. The species reproduces exclusively through thelytokous parthenogenesis; males are absent from all populations. Adults exhibit strong visual and thigmotactic preferences for refuge selection, favoring dark colors (black, blue), tall silhouettes, and basal entrance openings.

  parthenogenesisthelytokyflightlessnocturnalhorticultural-pestpolyphagousvisual-ecologyrefuge-seekingbelowground-herbivoryinvasive-speciesentomopathogenic-nematode-host