A survey of the primitive weevils of Wisconsin (Coleoptera: Nemonychidae, Anthribidae, Attelabidae, and Brentidae)

The primary objective of this project was to conduct a systematic survey of Wisconsin’s four families of primitive weevils (Nemonychidae, Anthribidae, Attelabidae and Brentidae) in order to investigate the diversity of these beetles in the state, their temporal and geographical distributions, and their natural history, including host and habitat associations.    The Insect Research Collection of the University of Wisconsin (WIRC) contained 53 species in 29 genera that had  been collected in Wisconsin prior to the survey, the provisional list of species estimated through various publications along with the WIRC and the WDNR (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources) collection hypothesized  72 species in 33 genera.   After two field seasons and scrutinizing identification efforts, the number of Wisconsin species has increased to 79 across 39 genera, with greater increase in county records, especially the northern part of Wisconsin which was historically undersampled.    Individual specimens  were databased using the relational database Specify, voucher specimens from the project are permanently housed in the WIRC, taxonomic keys, species pages , and web-based applications  have been constructed.