Bug FAQScolopterus penicillatus
Scolopterus penicillatus · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Curculionidae
The black spined weevil is a shining black beetle with a slight purplish tint. It is endemic to New Zealand and occurs throughout the country. Adults are found on native flowering plants in summer, and larvae develop in dead bark of Pseudopanax and related trees.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Its shoulder spines are less pointed than those of the similar S. tetracanthus.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found throughout New Zealand. Specimens have been collected from Urostemon on Hen Island.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae develop in the recently dead bark of various Pseudopanax species. Larvae have also been found under the bark of dead Nothopanax branches.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Larvae collected at Parahaki and Nelson were identified as S. penicillatus.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Scolopterus penicillatus is an endemic beetle of New Zealand.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Same family (Curculionidae)
Green Immigrant Leaf WeevilPolydrusus formosusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Black Vine WeevilOtiorhynchus sulcatusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Nettle weevilPhyllobius pomaceusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Asian Oak WeevilCyrtepistomus castaneusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Strawberry Root WeevilOtiorhynchus ovatusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Common Leaf WeevilPhyllobius pyriDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scolopterus_penicillatus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.