Curculio (kerkuʻlio)

[NL., The American agriculturist may have to encounter still another enemy of his labors a curculio nid beetle-the Phytonomus punctatus. Smithsonian Report, 1881, p. 449. II. n. A weevil or snout-beetle of the family Curculio nid a. Curculio nidæ (kėr-kū-li-on'i-dē), n. pl. [NL., Curculio nidæ coleopterous insects. They have a strong fold on the inner face of each of the elytra, the pygidium divided in the males, the tarsi generally dilated, brush-like beneath, and no acce ory mandibular piece. There are over 1,500 genera, all found on plants. About 10,000 species are described, in all of which the head is prolonged into a beak or snout, and furnished at the tip with a minute pair sharp horizontal jaws which are used by the insect depositing its eggs, generally in the kernel of some fruit, See cuts under Anthonomus, bean - weevil, and Conotrache lus.