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Lixus sp.
A weevil with mottled brown coloration, about 1 cm in length.
Found on my car, parked near a fragment of oak-hickory forest.
According to Bugguide.net, there are two ways to distinguish L. concavus from L. mucidus. 1. L. concavus has a conspicuously large indentation (hence concavus) at the back of the pronotum/front of the elytra, while L. mucidus has a much less pronounced concavity; 2. L. concavus has a yellowish "bloom" that rubs off when handling the weevil, while L. mucidus has a whitish bloom. I didn't handle this guy and don't know about the bloom (online images of the color of the weevils with bloom look much the same to me in that aspect). I can't see any conspicuous indentation in my spotting, so I'm leaning toward L. mucidus. As always, any help in identifying the species is greatly appreciated.
Spotted on Apr 16, 2013
Submitted on May 2, 2013
5 Comments
ID update: I posted pics to BugGuide.net. So far, Lixus is confirmed, and concavus has been excluded as the species. A more specific ID may come later. http://bugguide.net/node/view/778786
Keith, Thanks for the support of Lixus. I had tried to figure out how to distinguish L. concavus vs. L. mucidus, and the apparent lack of a deep impression in the pronotum-elytra junction is what made me think it's more likely L. mucidus. I'll keep at it!
Thanks, Maria.
Nice series
It certainly looks like Lixus. I'd vote for L. concavus, but I'm no expert.