Cleonis pigra
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Cleonis pigra, the sluggish weevil or large thistle weevil, is a weevil species recorded in Britain and native to Eurasia. It was introduced into North America to help control creeping thistle. This species develops in the roots of plants in the family Asteraceae.
It appears spelled different ways in the literature: Cleonis piger, Cleonus piger, Cleonus pigra, but the correct spelling under ICZN Article 31.2 is Cleonis pigra It is identified by double V-pattern elytra and a rostrum with three sulci. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Large Thistle Weevil sighting in Toronto on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 704th most-seen of the 1689 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Large Thistle Weevil in Toronto on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Large Thistle Weevil sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 7
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Large Thistle Weevil sightings, Toronto ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Bucharest (Romania, about 10%), Helsinki (Finland, under 5%) and Vienna (Austria, under 5%).
Same family: Curculionidae
The closest relatives of the Large Thistle Weevil that you can see in Toronto (family Curculionidae, True Weevils) are Green Immigrant Leaf Weevil (about 10%), Black Vine Weevil (about 10%) and Sweetclover Weevil (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Large Thistle Weevil is recorded against all the insects logged in Toronto (19 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
