About Arrenodes minutus (Drury, 1773)
Arrenodes is a genus of primitive weevils in the family Brentidae that contains only one described species: Arrenodes minutus, commonly known as the oak timberworm. These beetles are pests of hardwoods in North America. Adult oak timberworms are shiny and elongate, ranging from 7 to 25 mm in length. Their coloration is reddish-brown to brownish-black, with yellow spots on their elytra. Adults show strong sexual dimorphism: females have long, slender, straight mouthparts, while males have flattened, broadened mouthparts with large mandibles. Males are aggressive and use these large mandibles for combat, and the mandibles are also used during courtship. Larvae are elongate, cylindrical, white, and curved. They have three pairs of jointed legs on the thorax, and one pair of prolegs near the end of the abdomen. The oak timberworm’s geographic range extends from southern Ontario and Quebec through most of the eastern US to the Gulf of Mexico. Isolated populations have also been reported in Montana and Central America. This beetle has been found outside its native range: oak timberworms were discovered in a US shipment of wooden furniture in Nova Scotia, and are now established in Canada’s Maritime Provinces. An individual was intercepted in France in 2005 in a shipment of US-imported oak wood products, but the species has not established in Europe.
