alfalfa weevil

alfalfa weevil
a European weevil, Hypera postica, now also widely distributed in North America, that is an important pest, primarily of alfalfa, in both the larval and adult stages.
[1910-15]

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▪ insect
also called  Clover Leaf Weevil 

      (Hypera postica), insect pest of the family Curculionidae (order Coleoptera). The adult is dark brown to black and tiny (3 mm [ 1/10 inch] long) and has the typical prominent snout used by weevils to bore the small holes in which eggs are deposited. Eggs are laid in autumn, each female producing 600 to 800 eggs. The adults overwinter, as do the eggs, which hatch in the spring. The plump, legless larva is green with a white stripe along the back. Larvae occur in large numbers and strip soft leaf and stem tissues from food plants, usually alfalfa or clover, leaving only the network of veins. In Europe and especially in the United States considerable crop damage is caused by generations of alfalfa weevils coming to adulthood in June and August.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • alfalfa weevil — noun : a small dark brown European weevil (Hypera postica) now widely established in No. America having a yellowish or greenish white striped larva that feeds on the foliage of alfalfa * * * a European weevil, Hypera postica, now also widely… …   Useful english dictionary

  • alfalfa weevil — noun Date: 1912 a small dark brown European weevil (Hypera postica) that is now a widespread pest of alfalfa in North America …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • alfalfa weevil — noun a European weevil, Hypera postica, that infests alfalfa crops …   Wiktionary

  • alfalfa weevil — alfal′fa wee vil n. ent a European weevil, Hypera postica, now an important pest of alfalfa in North America • Etymology: 1910–15 …   From formal English to slang

  • alfalfa weevil — See weevil …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • egyptian alfalfa weevil — noun Usage: usually capitalized E : an Old World weevil (Hypera brunneipennis) related to the alfalfa weevil and established in western No. America where it feeds on alfalfa and various clovers …   Useful english dictionary

  • Egyptian alfalfa weevil — noun Date: 1943 an Old World weevil (Hypera brunneipennis) that is now a pest of alfalfa in western North America …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Alfalfa — This article is about plant and flower. For the actor and character of the series Our Gang, see Carl Alfalfa Switzer. For the community in Central Oregon, see Alfalfa, Oregon. Alfalfa Medicago sativa …   Wikipedia

  • alfalfa — /al fal feuh/, n. a plant, Medicago sativa, of the legume family, usually having bluish purple flowers, originating in the Near East and widely cultivated as a forage crop. Also called lucerne, purple medic. [1835 45; < Sp, var. of alfalfez …   Universalium

  • weevil — n. an alfalfa; boll weevil * * * boll weevil an alfalfa …   Combinatory dictionary

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