Mitsugiri weevil - Mitsugiri weevil

It is an insect belonging to the family Brentidae in the order Coleoptera of the class Insecta. It is found from Honshu to the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, and the Indochina Peninsula. It is a cylindrical beetle with a body length of 11 to 24 mm, its body is reddish brown to black, and has several orange markings on the upper bristles. The male's snout is wide and the mandibles are like a nail puller. The female's snout is thin and cylindrical. The family Brentidae is known to have about 1,300 species, mainly found in tropical and subtropical regions, and 27 species have been recorded in Japan. All larvae live in the wood of dead trees, and most adults are active at night, but the glossy honeysuckle gathers on flowers such as clover during the day. The narrow honeysuckle weevils live in the tunnels of bark beetles, and the adults are long and cylindrical. Adult flat-headed weevils are flat and live under the bark of trees.

[Kei Morimoto]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

昆虫綱甲虫目ミツギリゾウムシ科に属する昆虫。本州から南西諸島、および台湾、インドシナ半島に分布する。体長11～24ミリの円筒形をした甲虫で、体は赤褐色から黒色を帯び、上ばねに数個の橙色紋(とうしょくもん)がある。雄の吻(ふん)は幅広くて大あごは釘(くぎ)抜き状。雌の吻は細くて円筒状。ミツギリゾウムシ科Brentidaeは、熱帯、亜熱帯地域を中心に約1300種が知られ、日本からは27種が記録されている。幼虫はいずれも枯れ木の材中にすみ、多くの成虫は夜間に活動するがツヤヒメミツギリゾウムシは日中クサギなどの花に集まる。ホソミツギリゾウムシ類はキクイムシの孔道にすみ成虫は細長い円筒形。ヒラタミツギリゾウムシ類の成虫は扁平(へんぺい)で樹皮下にすむ。

［森本　桂］

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