Large pine weevil (Hylobius abietis Linnaeus)

Large pine weevil (Hylobius abietis Linnaeus) is one of the most recognizable beetles in our coniferous forests, which hikers often encounter on fresh clearings, stumps, or trunks of felled spruces and pines. Its body is dark brown to almost black in color, adorned with characteristic transverse stripes of tiny, light yellow scales that provide excellent camouflage on rough bark. Its most prominent feature is the long and strong snout, on which it has elbowed antennae. It grows to a length of up to 14 millimeters, which places it among the larger representatives of its family in our region.
In nature, it plays an important role, although it is often unwanted in forestry. Adult beetles feed on the bark of young conifers, while their larvae develop in the roots of fresh stumps. Despite being considered an economic pest, it is an interesting inhabitant of the mountain world, which is most easily observed along paths from spring to late summer. It is a persistent walker and good flier that likes to stay on sunny spots, where it searches for suitable feeding places. If you observe it up close, you will notice its characteristic slow and deliberate movement; in danger, it often clings tightly to the substrate or falls motionlessly to the ground.