Root Weevil Larvae

Vineweevil

I found some of these lovely little grubs in a potted plant that I bought at the nursery. I looked them up in my insect field guide, since I didn’t want to squash them if they were beneficial insects. They’re not. They’re the larvae of the Vine Weevil (from the largerRoot Weevil family) they feed on a plant’s roots and then hatch into those brown/black beetlelike bugs that eat notches out of the leaves on Broadbeans, Rhodedendrons and countless other things. So they got squished. And you should do the same if you see them too.

Root weevils in general can do a lot of damage to leaves. They tend to come out at night so the best way to catch them is to collect them in the evening in a jar. If you dig around the bottom of the plant too you might find some of the grubs above. These are best dealt with in the Autumn.

Category: Pests & Diseases     Tagged:

8 Comments on “Root Weevil Larvae”

  2. Beware. There will be more eggs ready to hatch out when you’re not looking! Take the plant back to where you bought it from or get rid of it before they spread. These grubs are very destructive and you don’t want the beetles spreading through your lovely new greenhouse.

  3. Yuck. I’ve found these before, and it’s always worth checking the pots for them as soon as you get them home (if not at the garden centre). They are fat, juicy and horrid!

  4. I found some of these in my potted strawberries yesterday when I was having a tidy up in the garden. I tipped them out onto the garden and within seconds they’d been gobbled up by my friendly robin! Let’s hope he found any eggs lurking too!

  5. I found some these in my plant pots last year …horrid things. Never thought of checking plants I buy though..will do from now on!

  6. Good for you for looking them up first! My instinct is to squish every grub I see. I don’t even wait for the birds to get them.

    I hope spring is finally coming on where you are!

  7. Hi Wash the roots to get rid of the eggs and then get some nematodes or what ever they are. I get these in my strawberry pots ever so often if I’m not vigilant and they are the most destructive bug ever
    Patricia

  8. Thanks so much for sharing. Last night I found some while redoing some raised beds. I tossed them out for the birds, but thought I should look them up today to make sure they weren’t beneficial. That isn’t why I stopped by your site (I was actually looking up about strawberries), but I’m glad I did. Now I’ll know to be on the look out.