Sitona

a genus of beetles of the family Curculionidae (weevils). The body length is 3–7.5 mm, and the coloration is gray or brown. These beetles have developed wings and a short, thick snout. Species of this genus are found wherever legumes are grown. Of the 45 species that are found in the USSR, Sitona lineatus, S. crinitus, S. inops, S. humeralis, sweetclover weevil (S. cylindricollis), and S. sulcifrons do the most damage to leguminous grains and perennial leguminous grasses. The beetles eat leaves. The larvae damage the nitrogen-fixing tubers and roots of the legumes. Countermeasures include the early planting of annual legumes, the use of early and mid-season ripening varieties, the liming of acid soils and the application of nitrugin to increase tuber development, early harvesting followed by immediate plowing of the fields, and the treatment of the seeds and planted areas with insecticides.