Otiorhynchus sulcatus

Coleoptera: Curculionidae

Identification
• Adult is a hard-shelled, ¹/₄" long, blackish beetle with indistinct yellowish spots. Its mouthparts are at the end of a broad snout. (a)
• Larva is white, legless, somewhat C-shaped, and up to ¹/₂" long. (b)

Damage
• The adults feed on the edges of leaves at night, causing crescent-shaped notches on yew, euonymous, rhododendron, strawberry, clematis, and other shrubs and flowers.
• The larvae feed on the roots of yew, strawberry, and other plants, causing dieback usually to those already under stress.

Management
• Grow plants where there is good drainage and soil compaction is unlikely.
• Avoid planting euonymous next to yews.
• Adults can be controlled with insecticide sprayed heavily on the foliage when vanhoutte spirea finishes bloom.
• Insecticidal nematodes are effective against the larvae.