Pest Profile

Red Sunflower Seed Weevil
Smicronyx fulvus
  • Red sunflower seed weevil
  • Red sunflower seed weevil
  • Red sunflower seed weevil

Pest Description

This is a small, reddish-brown weevil that is 1/8 inch (3 to 4 mm) long with a snout less than half the length of the body. Adults are most easily seen on the faces of blooms, often covered with pollen, or hiding behind the flower bracts. Infested seeds are not noticeably different from healthy ones, and larvae do not completely consume the seed contents. Mature larvae abandon seeds via an exit hole chewed near the top. 

Source of information

https://www.bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/MF3129.pdf

Pest photo source

Phil Sloderbeck and Wendy Johnson, KSU Entomology