The weevils of Canada and Alaska. /

The work includes a key to all the families of Curculionoidea in North America, as well as keys to all genera and species of the families included. [...] The larvae of weevils attack plants from almost every aspect, and it is at this stage that the insects cause the most damage; larvae of broad-nosed Curculionidae generally live free in the soil and feed on roots; larvae of other Curculionidae develop in the roots of herbaceous plants; still others cause galls to form on the roots and stems. [...] In number of species the superfamily Curculionoidea is one of the largest of all the groups of Coleoptera, with an estimated 40 000 species known around the world. [...] The families treated in this part represent only a small fraction of the weevils of Canada and Alaska-only 90 species, compared with the estimated 600 species in Curculionidae, which will be treated in the next two volumes of this study. [...] In Anthribidae and Nemonychidae the maxillary palpi have 4 segments and are flexible, and the labrum is distinct and separate; in the remaining families, the maxillary palpi have 2 or 3 segments and are rigid, and the labrum is never fully free.