Peritelus sphaeroides Germar (Curculionidae) rediscovered in Britain

摘要

On a visit to Brooklands on 11 May 2018, HM found an unfamiliar weevil in considerable numbers (literally dozens), that was identified as Peritelus sphaeroides Germar. The beetles were particularly numerous along a hedge (a couple of hundred metres long), planted as a screen along one side of an access road to several commercial units on the Brooklands estate, Surrey (TQ0662, VC 17). Although the screen had some older trees, dating back decades and marking an earlier boundary, most of the vegetation had been planted much more recently with various ornamental species. The screen included natives (hazel Corylus avellana, holly Ilex aquifolium, hawthorn Crataegus monogyna, etc.) and numerous ornamentals (false acacia Robinia sp., Russian vine Fallopia sp., firethorn Pyracantha sp., oleaster Elaeagnus sp., Cotoneaster sp., etc.). The weevils were mostly on vegetation close to the ground, but likely they climbed higher in the evening, to feed.