Mystery Bug No More

After finding that nasty bug I sent an email to the bug naming experts at WhatsThatBug.com. Yes . . . my insect identifier - according to them it is an "Acorn Weevil." The Curculio Nucum is a species of weevil known as the hazelnut weevil or acorn weevil (although that name is used in Europe for Curculio glandium). It is the most common of all acorn-eating insects and grows to approximately ½ in long. It has a distinctly longer and more slender snout than other weevils, which can be up to twice the length of the body and have sharp saw-like teeth at the end. The female C. nucum uses her long beak to eat out the inside of an acorn in which she will then proceed to lay her eggs.The color usually varies from light brown to dark brown. the beetle will go through three stages; egg, larva,and the beetle stage."Wikipedia Acorn Weevil (Jan. 27, 2008).

(1) What is a weevil? (2) We have no trees in our entire complex . . . what was the thing laying its eggs in? And most importantly for Willow, (3) How did it get into our apartment?

Wikipedia was quick to help. "A weevil is any beetle from the Curculionoidea superfamily. They are usually small . . . and herbivorous . . . . [m]any weevils are damaging to crops. The grain or wheat weevil . . . damages stored grain. The boll weevil . . . attacks cotton crops. It lays its eggs inside unripe cotton bolls, and the young weevils eat their way out . . . .Weevils are often found in dry foods including nuts and seeds, cereal and grain products. In the domestic setting, they are most likely to be observed when a bag of flour is opened, although they will happily infest most types of grain including oats, barley and breakfast cereals. Their presence is often indicated by the granules of the infested item sticking together in strings, as if caught in a cobweb. If ingested, E. Coli infection and other various diseases can be contracted from weevils, depending on their diet."

I've checked our "dry goods" and we're okay. I'm assuming that since we have only seen one he (crossing my fingers) was just lost. I'm hoping it was a "he" or "male" - I don't like the idea of having little Acorn Weevil eggs in my Apply Jacks.