Twobanded Japanese Weevil

How to identify it

• Adults are about 5 mm, stout and pear-shaped with a short blunt snout, covered in brown and gray scales that form bands.^[1]
• They can't fly, because the wing covers are fused.^[1]

Where it lives

Native to East Asia, it's established in New England, the mid-Atlantic, Indiana, Illinois and the Southeast, and was confirmed in Florida in 2005.^[1]

US map: public records from 28 states since 1990 (GBIF). View the map

Biology and life cycle

Females reproduce without mating, and males generally aren't found in the U.S.^[1]

Adults feed by day; larvae live in soil and eat roots.^[1]

Damage and signs

• Adults chew notches in leaf margins, and new adults can cause severe defoliation.^[1]

Health risk

It feeds on plants; UF/IFAS mentions no risk to people.^[1]

Control

Traps and physical control

Shake or tap plants over a white sheet; the weevils drop and play dead, so they're easy to collect and destroy.^[1]

Pesticides

If spraying, the best timing is in spring when overwintered adults start feeding.^[1]

Common questions

What's notching my shrub leaves?

Possibly twobanded Japanese weevils, which feed on leaf edges.^[1]

How do I catch them?

Shake the plant over a white sheet; they drop and play dead.^[1]

Sources

1. University of Florida IFAS Extension (Featured Creatures), “Twobanded Japanese Weevil, Pseudocneorhinus bifasciatus (EENY-361).” edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN646 (accessed 2026-10-06)
2. iNaturalist, “Pseudocneorhinus bifasciatus taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/474853 (accessed 2026-10-06)