Sitona weevil

Sitona weevils attack lucerne, annual medics and subterranean clover. Adults make scallop-shaped notches in the leaves and chew the stems of seedlings. Larvae live in the soil and feed on root hairs and root nodules which can slow plant growth. Adults are 3 - 5 mm long, greyish-brown in colour with three pale stripes on the thorax. They have a short, broad snout and they are capable flyers. Larvae are white, legless grubs up to 5 mm long. Eggs are laid in autumn, larvae hatch and feed through winter into spring, then pupate in the soil and emerge as adults in late spring/early summer. Adults are active from spring to autumn.