“What is this?” = Acorn Weevil Larvae

Scientific Fact – Entomology: These aren’t ordinary worms. These are oak weevil larvae (Curculio spp. 1). What exactly happened? The weevil’s life cycle: The whole story started last summer: The female bores: The female oak weevil has a long, needle-like proboscis. She bores into the green oak while it’s still on the tree. She lays an egg inside: She lays a single egg inside the oak. The larva eats: The egg hatches, and a small larva starts eating the acorn’s nut meat from the inside. That green stuff in the circle is the larva’s excrement plus the digested remains of the oak. She escapes to the ground: When she grows up, the larva gnaws a small hole and falls to the ground. It buries its head 5-10cm deep in the soil to transform into a pupa and spends the entire winter buried. The larva that’s alone: ​​the white one next to it is a larva that has emerged from its oak and is ready to bury itself. 2. Is it dangerous? To humans: Not at all. It doesn’t bite, it’s not poisonous, and it doesn’t transmit diseases. If you accidentally eat an oak with a larva in it, you’ll digest it normally. It’s just psychologically disgusting 😅 To trees: Yes. The weevil destroys 50-75% of the oak crop every year. The tree loses many of its “offspring” before they become new trees. 3. Why is it green-gray? Because it ate the green oak. Its excrement (frass) + the oak sap gives it that color. The pure white larva is the one that finished eating and is ready to transform into a pupa. 4. What should