Lixus anguinus L.
Taxonomic placing: Insecta, Holometabola, Coleoptera, Curculionidae.
Common name: Cabbage weevil
Geographical distribution: Mediterranean region, southern Europe and southern Russia.
Host plants: Various Brassicacae
Morphology: Adult body elongated, grey, about 15-18 mm long, head darker. Elytra striated and finely punctated, brown, with 3 dorsal whitish bands that extend to the thorax and head. Larva whitish with a brown head, about 18 mm in length.
Life cycle: Females bore small holes in cabbage stalks or young branches and place single eggs therein. The emerging larva feeds and pupates there. The adult may live for several months, the pest raising 3 annual generations.
Economic importance: Cabbage grown for seeds and horseradish are particularly damaged. The flower heads may dry up and plant losses can reach 30%.
Management
Horticultural control: Wild Brassicacae (such as wild mustard) and cabbage residues, in which the pest may remain, should be burned.
Biological control: The endoparasitoid Pteromalus lixi Sarra (Pteromalidae) attacks the weevil.
References
Rivnay, E. 1962. Field Crop Pests in the Near East. W Junk, The Hague, 450 pp.
Thompson, W.R. 1958. A Catalogue of the Parasites and Predators of Insect Pests. Section 2. Host Parasite Catalogue Part 5. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Commonwealth Institute of Biological Control, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, pp.599