Nemonychidae

Nemonychidae is a small family of weevils, placed within the primitive weevil group because they have straight rather than geniculate (elbowed) antennae. They are often called pine flower weevils. As in the Anthribidae, the labrum appears as a separate segment to the clypeus, and the maxillary palps are long and projecting. Nemonychidae have all ventrites free, while Anthribidae have ventrites 1-4 connate or partially fused. Nemonychidae lack lateral carinae on the pronotum, while these are usually present, though may be short, in Anthribidae. Nemonychidae are historically divided into three subfamilies: Nemonychinae of the Palearctic region with the single genus Nemonyx and an unusual host, the angiosperm Delphinium. Most species of the other two subfamilies are associated with conifers, feeding on the pollen of the male inflorescences. Cimberidinae are found in the Northern hemisphere, while Rhinorhynchinae occur largely in the Southern hemisphere, especially found on Podocarpaceae and Araucariaceae. Recent phylogenetic research indicates that the Cimberidinae are sister to all of the remaining Curculionoidea, and it has been proposed to elevate the group to family rank. Both Nemonychidae adults and larvae feed primarily on pollen. When mature, the larvae will drop to the ground from the male cones or flowers they resided in to pupate in the soil less than five centimeters from the surface. There exists a fairly extensive fossil record of Nemonychidae reaching from the upper Jurassic to tertiary amber.