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Brentidae
Brentidae is a cosmopolitan family of primarily xylophagous beetles also known as straight-snouted weevils. The concept of this family has been recently expanded with the inclusion of three groups formerly placed in the Curculionidae; the subfamilies Apioninae, Cyladinae, and Nanophyinae, as well as the Ithycerinae, previously considered a separate family. They are most diverse in the tropics, but occur throughout the temperate regions of the world. They are among the families of weevils that have non-elbowed antennae, and tend to be elongate and flattened, though there are numerous exceptions. The subfamilial classification of the family has been reorganized by several different authors within the last 20 years, and is not yet stable; the most recent, and conservative, classification (Oberprieler et al., 2007) accepts only 6 subfamilies, with many familiar subfamilial taxa (e.g., Antliarhininae, Cyladinae, Cyphagoginae, Myrmacicelinae, and Trachelizinae) now relegated to tribal groups, primarily within the subfamily Brentinae.
I found this little creature on an eggplant leaf. Its length is about a grain of rice and the width is about 1/2 the grain of rice. This one is so tiny. Can hardly see it.
I changed the scientific name as brentidae for the moment. Will edit it later if positive ID is found. Thanks LaibnaleFriedman.
This is not Plesiobolbus martini. P. martini was described from Tanzania, and this species is from Philippines. Also it does not look similar to P. martini, only in general, because it also belongs to Brentidae. May be Luca Bartolozzi can determine it. He is on the Facebook.
I forgot to add that it is not "the last instar", but the adult beetle.
This is a weevil from the family of Brentidae. It is probably a male. These weevils are associated with dead wood and ant colonies, so it appearance on the eggplant is occasional.
Spotted on Aug 24, 2012
Submitted on Aug 26, 2012
