Koncz Péter (DINPI)
Like other Curculio species that lives on oak forests, the larvae of the Curculio gyongyiae probably develops in oak acorns, and in autumn, the larvae that crawl out of the previously fallen acorns hibernate in the soil and pupate there. The species lives in warm, south facing, rocky Pannonian woods with Quercus pubescens.
The species would not have been discovered if there were no such oak forests. The species was discovered by Valentin Szénási (DINPD) in 2022 on the Kincses Mountain near Esztergom, and it was also found in the Life4OakForests project area. Thus, protection, maintenance and research of these forests are important. Although, Curculio species is sometimes regarded as a forest pest, but their acorn consumption is far less compared to consumption of the overpopulated wild boars.
Moreover, the species, along with several other similar species of Curculio, deserves protection due to their narrow distribution and island-like occurrence.
Read more about the Curculio gyongyiae in National Geographic and in the Zootaxa journal (Szénási 2022).
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