Monthly Science: Chestnut Weevil Damage

The dried chestnuts looked undamaged in their husk, but three groups of weevil grubs surely left some damage behind:

Chestnut husk - dried
Chestnut husk – dried

Gingerly prying the seeds out revealed holes in all three:

Chestnut weevil damage - exterior
Chestnut weevil damage – exterior

The weevils converted the nut meat into what looks like solid frass:

Chestnut weevil damage - interior
Chestnut weevil damage – interior

Having eaten themselves out of house and home, they moved on to the next plane of existence.

For most of them, that would be bird food.

2 thoughts on “Monthly Science: Chestnut Weevil Damage

  1. Roast those “over an open fire”! … Truth be told, I’ve never had roasted chestnuts of any variety, especially frass flavor.

    1. I vaguely recall eating a roasted chestnut and deciding it didn’t live up to the hype.

Comments are closed.