Root Weevils

Hosts

All fruit trees

Biology

The adults are hard, rounded beetles with pronounced “snouts;” active at night.  Adults feed on foliage and the small, white legless larvae feed on roots and crowns.

Symptoms/Damage

Semi-circular notches at leaf edges; reduced tree vigor and increased drought stress.

Monitoring

Check for leaf damage in summer.

Treatment Threshold

No threshold determined.

Degree Day Model

None

Management Considerations

The best timing for suppression is in the spring and early summer when leaf-notching injury first appears, and again in the late summer to early fall to target larvae before winter.  Many insecticides can kill adults; entomopathogenic nematodes and fungi applied to the soil by the roots can kill larvae.