Family: Curculionidae
Subfamily: Baridinae
Length: 3-5 mm
The white scales on the scutellum are a common feature in the genus Odontocorynus. Males of O. umbellae are black and the base of their antennal club has a pointy spur on it. Females tend to be larger and reddish, and lack the acute process on the base of the antennal club (Prena, 2008).
Until recently we had this photograph captioned as Odontocorynus scutellumalbum, but in 2008 Jens Prena made O. scutellumalbum a synonym of O. umbella.
Compared with other species of Odontocorynus, the rostrum of O. umbellae is strongly curved at the base, but nearly straight near the apex.
Odontocorynus umbellae adults feed on a variety of flowers, including Common Mullein, and various daisies and sunflowers. Look for this species from late May to early September.
Left: records of Odontocorynus umbellae. Right: typical antennal club with basal spur, common to males of many (though not all) species in the genus. The spur is of different shapes in different species. Artwork after Jens Prena (2008).
Insects of West Virginia
