# Sitophilus

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{{Short description|Genus of beetles}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Sitophilus.granarius.jpg
| image_caption = ''[Sitophilus granarius](/source/Sitophilus_granarius)''
| taxon = Sitophilus
| authority = [Schoenherr](/source/Carl_Johan_Sch%C3%B6nherr), 1838<ref>Schoenherr (1838). ''Gen. et Sp. Curc.'' '''4'''(2): 967.</ref>
| display_parents = 2
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = 14, see text
}}

'''''Sitophilus''''' is a [genus](/source/genus) of [weevil](/source/weevil)s in the [tribe](/source/Tribe_(biology)) [Litosomini](/source/Litosomini). Some species are familiar as [pests](/source/pest_(organism)) of stored grain, nut, or seed. Notable pest species include the [rice weevil](/source/rice_weevil) (''S. oryzae''), [wheat weevil](/source/wheat_weevil) (''S. granarius''), and [maize weevil](/source/maize_weevil) (''S. zeamais'').

Among the ''Stiophilus'' are species which destroy stored [wheat](/source/wheat), [rice](/source/rice), [sorghum](/source/sorghum),<ref>{{cite web|title=Greater Rice Weevil {{!}} ''Sitophilus zeamais'' |series=Stored Grain Insects|website=PestWeb |url=http://agspsrv34.agric.wa.gov.au/ento/pestweb/Query1_1.idc?ID=-1055010548 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928035624/http://agspsrv34.agric.wa.gov.au/ento/pestweb/Query1_1.idc?ID=-1055010548 |archive-date=2011-09-28}}</ref><ref name=bru>{{cite conference|year=2006 |url=https://www.academia.edu/119648155 |title=Control of ''Sitophilus zeamais'' Mots., 1958 and ''Sitophilus oryzae'' (L., 1763) weevils (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) in stored rice grain (''Oryza sativa'' l.) with insecticide pirimiphos methyl (Actellic 500 CE)|author= B. Alleoni|author2= W. Ferreira |conference=9th International Working Conference on Stored Product Protection}}</ref><ref name=grains>{{cite web|url=http://www.grainscanada.gc.ca/storage-entrepose/pip-irp/mw-cr-eng.htm |title=Maize weevil |publisher=Grainscanada.gc.ca |date=2009-12-21 |access-date=2010-07-29}}</ref> [oats](/source/oats), [barley](/source/barley), [rye](/source/rye), [buckwheat](/source/buckwheat),<ref name=grains/> [peas](/source/peas), [cottonseed](/source/cottonseed), processed [cereal](/source/cereal) products such as [pasta](/source/pasta), [cassava](/source/cassava),<ref name=bru/> and fruits such as [apples](/source/apples).<ref name="padil">{{Cite web |url=http://www.padil.gov.au/pbt/index.php?pbtid=217&q=node%2F70 |title=Maize weevil {{!}} Padil.gov |access-date=2016-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403121416/http://www.padil.gov.au/pbt/index.php?pbtid=217&q=node%2F70 |archive-date=2016-04-03 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Distribution==
The rice and maize weevils have a nearly [cosmopolitan distribution](/source/cosmopolitan_distribution), occurring throughout the warmer parts of the world. In Europe they are replaced by the temperate [Palearctic](/source/Palearctic) [wheat weevil](/source/wheat_weevil).

==Biology==
The adult female weevil bores a hole in a grain, nut, or seed, and deposits an egg, usually one egg per individual grain. She seals the hole with a secretion. The [larva](/source/larva) develops while feeding on the interior of the grain, and then [pupa](/source/pupa)tes. It usually leaves the grain completely hollow when it exits as an adult.<ref name=plarre>{{cite journal|author=Plarre, R.|year=2010 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281360233 |title=An attempt to reconstruct the natural and cultural history of the granary weevil, ''Sitophilus granarius'' (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)|journal=Eur J Entomol|volume= 107|issue=1|pages=1–11|doi=10.14411/eje.2010.001|via=ResearchGate|doi-access=free}}</ref> The wheat weevil can live on [acorn](/source/acorn)s, and may have used them as a host before agriculture made grain plentiful. The rice weevil can live on beans, nuts, grains, and some types of fruit, such as [grape](/source/grape)s.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ebeling, W. |chapter-url=http://www.entomology.ucr.edu/ebeling/ebeling7.html |chapter=Chapter 7: Pests Of Stored Food Products |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151108042922/http://www.entomology.ucr.edu/ebeling/ebeling7.html |archive-date=2015-11-08|title=Urban Entomology|publisher=University of California, Riverside}}</ref> Several other ''Sitophilus'' use the acorns of [oak](/source/oak)s such as [bluejack oak](/source/quercus_incana) (''Quercus incana'') and [moru oak](/source/quercus_floribunda) (''Q. floribunda''). Some use the seeds of trees in the [Dipterocarpaceae](/source/Dipterocarpaceae) and the [legume](/source/legume) family, [Fabaceae](/source/Fabaceae). The [tamarind weevil](/source/sitophilus_linearis) (''S. linearis'') is only known from the seeds of [tamarind](/source/tamarind).<ref name=plarre/>

Several ''Sitophilus'' species are hosts to an intracellular [γ-Proteobacterium](/source/proteobacterium). Weevil and bacterium have a [symbiotic](/source/symbiosis) relationship in which the bacterium produces nutrients such as amino acids and vitamins for the host, supplementing its cereal diet.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Vallier, A.|display-authors=et al|year=2009|title=RNAi in the cereal weevil ''Sitophilus'' spp: systemic gene knockdown in the bacteriome tissue|journal=BMC Biotechnology|volume=9|issue=|page=44|doi=10.1186/1472-6750-9-44 |doi-access=free |pmid=19445662 |pmc=2687439 }}</ref>

==Diversity==
As of 1993, there are about 14 species of ''Sitophilus''.<ref name=plarre/>

Species include:<ref name=plarre/>
*''[Sitophilus conicollis](/source/Sitophilus_conicollis)''
*''[Sitophilus cribrosus](/source/Sitophilus_cribrosus)''
*''[Sitophilus erosa](/source/Sitophilus_erosa)''
*''[Sitophilus glandium](/source/Sitophilus_glandium)''
*''[Sitophilus granarius](/source/wheat_weevil)'' &ndash; wheat weevil, granary weevil
*''[Sitophilus linearis](/source/Sitophilus_linearis)'' &ndash; tamarind weevil
*''[Sitophilus oryzae](/source/rice_weevil)'' &ndash; rice weevil
*''[Sitophilus quadrinotatus](/source/Sitophilus_quadrinotatus)''
*''[Sitophilus rugicollis](/source/Sitophilus_rugicollis)''
*''[Sitophilus rugosus](/source/Sitophilus_rugosus)''
*''[Sitophilus sculpturatus](/source/Sitophilus_sculpturatus)''
*''[Sitophilus vateriae](/source/Sitophilus_vateriae)''
*''[Sitophilus zeamais](/source/maize_weevil)'' &ndash; maize weevil

[Fossil](/source/Fossil) taxa include:
*{{extinct}}''[Sitophilus punctatissimus](/source/Sitophilus_punctatissimus)''

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons|Sitophilus}}
* {{cite journal|author=Obata, H.|display-authors= et al |year=2011|title=A new light on the evolution and propagation of prehistoric grain pests: The world's oldest maize weevils found in Jomon Potteries, Japan|journal=[PLoS ONE](/source/PLoS_ONE)|volume=6|issue=3|article-number=e14785|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0014785|doi-access= free |pmid= 21479261 |bibcode= 2011PLoSO...614785O |pmc=3066187}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1431435}}
{{Authority control}}

Category:Dryophthorinae
Category:Insect pests of millets
Category:Storage pests
Category:Taxa named by Carl Johan Schönherr
Category:Curculionidae genera

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sitophilus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitophilus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitophilus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.