PINE WEEVIL

any wood-boring beetle of the insect family Curculionidae (order Coleoptera). Their most unusual physical characteristic is an elongated beak, or snout. The white pine weevil (Pissodes strobi) of North America kills the central growth shoot of white pine trees, forcing one of the side shoots to take over the upward growth of the tree. This results in bends in the tree trunk and reduces its value as lumber.