Kingdom Animalia Family Curculionidae Tribe Aterpini Genus Anagotus Order Beetle | Class Insecta Subfamily Cyclominae Phylum Arthropoda Rank Species | |
 | ||
Similar Beetle, Deinacrida rugosa, Saddleback, Giant weta, Phormium tenax | ||
The flax weevil (Anagotus fairburni) is a large flightless weevil. It was discovered by E. Fairburn in 1931 on D'Urville Island. The weevil is known to live on New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax), feeding on leaves, where it produces a characteristic feeding notch. The weevil is a large, nocturnal, flightless weevil ranging in length from 20 to 25mm.
Although considered a coastal species, the flax weevil has been found in the Tararua Range on Phormium cookianum, a mountain flax. It is possible that other remnant populations survive in other mountain ranges. However, due to predation by mammals, it is likely restricted to rodent-free offshore islands in more modern times.
The eggs of the flax weevil can take 3 - 5 weeks to hatch. How long a weevil spends as a larva or pupa is unknown but adult flax weevils have lived for over 12 months in captivity.