Tulip Tree Leafminer

Appearance

Yellow-poplar weevils are small black-snout beetles and are tick-like in appearance. While in its larval stage, the weevil presents as a white legless grub. Measuring approximately 1/16 of an inch long, the adult weevils are normally black or dark brown in coloring. While most weevils are a solid color it has been noted that some southern populations exhibit yellow antenna. Its protruding snout can lead them sometimes to be confused with a tick.

Naming

It is also known as the sassafras mining weevil, tuliptree leafminer, yellow poplar weevil, or the magnolia leaf miner.

Distribution

It usually is found in yellow-poplar, sassafras, and magnolia trees. Its distribution is east of the Mississippi River in all areas where its native hosts exist. It has been noted that its preferred host is Yellow-poplar.

Reproduction

The weevil goes through a single life-cycle each year. Adults pass the winter months in surrounding leaf litter and become active throughout late April and early May. Before leaf buds on Yellow-poplar, Sassafras, or Magnolia trees open, weevils attack the buds and leave their distinctive feeding marks.

Mating takes place throughout May and early June. The eggs are laid in the midrib on the underside of leaves, about one to three eggs per site. There are generally four or five punctures at each oviposition site, resulting in 12 to 15 eggs per leaf. The eggs hatch in a few days to reveal legless, C-shaped grubs.

Newly hatched larvae move from the midrib into the leaf where they feed as leaf miners for three to four weeks. Once they are ready to pupate, the grubs spin reddish-brown cocoons in one of the main mining halls they created as larvae. They remain in these cocoons until the second week of June where they then emerge as adults. The new adults then continue on their journey to eat yet more leaves until mid or late July. From this time onward, they generally disappear into new leaf litter to await the coming spring months.