ALFALFA WEEVIL

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.