Rice Water Weevil vs Margined Leatherwing

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Rice Water Weevil Margined Leatherwing
Scientific Name Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Chauliognathus marginatus
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Curculionidae Cantharidae
Size 2.5-3.5 mm 9-12 mm
Habitat Wetlands Underground
Diet Herbivores Nectar Feeders
Regions South Asia (India, Sri Lanka; invasive pest spreading across Asian rice-growing regions) Eastern North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Rice Water Weevil

A small, grey-brown weevil that feeds on rice roots as a larva and on rice leaves as an adult. Adults create distinctive narrow feeding scars along the surface of rice leaves parallel to the leaf veins.

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Did You Know?

Larvae feed underwater on rice roots, surviving by obtaining oxygen from the rice plant's aerenchyma tissue through specialized spiracles.

Margined Leatherwing

An early-summer soldier beetle found across eastern North America with yellow elytra edged in dark margins. It visits a wide variety of flowers.

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Did You Know?

Unlike the similar goldenrod soldier beetle, this species appears in late spring rather than autumn.