Vine Weevil – Otiorhynchus sulcatus

Found this Weevil (1 cm long) among my Strawberry plants yesterday evening.  Most adults die in late Autumn when the cold weather sets in – and this big creature was in that state. I brought it in and put it in a jar – just as well I did because it has been cold and pouring with rain all day here, with quite strong winds as well. So it has to be my blip for today.  If it is a female she will have laid between 500 to 1,500 eggs in my Strawberry bed this year – so I’ll have to keep examining it now I know they are there. Eggs hatch into white C-shaped larvae with brown heads, which begin feeding on roots, tubers, corms and the lower stems of susceptible plants.  Overwintering larvae will feed on the deep roots in the soil and pupate around late April to early May. I can't say I have ever seen any, but then I wasn't looking for them! I'll be more observant now!  Hope you are having better weather than me:-)