Leaf cutting-patterns and general cradle formation process of thirteen Apoderinae (Coleoptera: Attelabidae) in Korea: Cradles of Attelabidae in Korea I

The distinctive feature of leaf-rolling weevils is their special care for their progeny. In many species among the family Attelabidae, the female recognizes the size and shape of the leaf of the host-plant and does the leaf cutting by a definite method. The location of cutting line, length and shape becomes the basic information in understanding the most fundamental structure of female's recognition process and cradle formation strategy. Leaf cutting is not only the process of withering the leaf by blocking the water flow along the main vein but also the process of making reversal easy at the leaf-blade part. The difference in forms of cutting line, leaf blade, interval or dispersion of nibble marks on the stem and pitch of leaf rolling has effects on the shape of the completed cradle. In the present paper we provide leaf-cutting patterns and the cradle formation process for 13 species of subfamily Apoderinae. We also provide a pictorial key of the cradle for the first time in Korea.