WHEELING – Often mistaken for a tick, a small, curious looking insect called a weevil is becoming more prevalent around the Ohio Valley, as many area residents may have spotted the pesky bugs on the exterior of their cars.

Weevils are actually a beetle that comes in a wide range of shapes and sizes. However, one variety of the insect, the Tulip Poplar Weevil, is currently going through a cycle in northern areas of West Virginia, according to Ohio County West Virginia University Extension Service Agent Karen Cox.

“It’s just a cycle. We had an outbreak of the Tulip Poplar Weevils in 2012 … and there just happens to be a lot of them,” she said.

Cox said the day length and abundant food sources – like poplar, magnolia and sassafras trees – are just a few of the factors adding to the large numbers of the insect in this year’s cycle.

“It’s just an outbreak year. I’ve heard of reports from several different areas in northern West Virginia,” said Cox, who had a few calls to her office from area residents worried if the insects were ticks.

While there are no real concerns with this particular variety of weevil causing problems with people, Cox said they may do some damage to freshly planted trees. She said it is best to wait out the cycle – which can last a few months – rather than spray insecticides which can cause additional problems.

Cox said there is an easy way to tell the difference between a weevil and a tick, which can transmit the causative agent for Lyme disease.

“Weevils can fly, while ticks do not fly,” said Cox, who is quick to explain that a weevil is an insect, while a tick is an arachnid and is part of the spider family.

There are also anatomical differences between the two. When looking closely at a weevil, it has a very distinctive separate-looking head area with a distinctive elongated snout, while ticks have a much smaller head.

Cox said residents need to take into consideration the areas they are exposing themselves to as well.

“If you are in a parking lot, odds are you’re not going to see a tick … they are going to be found along trails and high grass or low brush areas,” she said.

Cox said in instances when people see a large conglomeration of insects crawling on their car in an open area, it’s going to be weevils, not ticks. She said while weevils fly in large numbers and many times come to rest in open areas, ticks are more solitary and usually hang out in shaded, wooded or grassy locations.