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The black banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus) is a species of curculionoid beetle in the family Curculionidae native to the Old World. Today, it is widespread worldwide as a pest of plants in the genus Musa, including banana (Musa x paradisiaca) and abaca (Musa textilis).

Characteristics
C. sordidus is a beetle measuring 8–12 mm long, elongated, and uniformly black in color, although it has a reddish tinge when newly hatched. It has a six-segmented antennal funiculus, with the apex extending above the posterior margin of the eyes. The rostrum is cylindrical, with the ventral curve typical of its family. The anterior margin of the first thorax segment is just behind the eye, and the pronotal disc has deep perforations. The elytra lack silky nodules; They are slightly convex, smooth, and punctate at regular intervals. The pygidium is visible behind these. The tarsus has five segments, the fourth of which is very small. The scutellum is rhomboid or almost circular, with a widened center.

Habits
It is primarily active at night, residing between leaf blades, in the soil next to the pseudostem of its host, or in the debris of its host's production. It rarely flies, preferring to walk and spreading primarily by moving infected material.

The weevil lives up to two years. It can survive without feeding for several months.

Reproduction
The oviposition rate is between one egg per day and one per week. The female deposits the eggs in holes made with her beak in the pseudostem or rhizome of the plant; they are white, elongated, and about 2 mm long. The viscous sap secreted by the plant helps to fix and protect them. After 5 to 7 days, the larvae hatch, emerging as robust, white larvae with reddish heads. They feed on the rhizome and pseudostem tissue for 15 to 20 days, reaching a length of 12 mm. The galleries the larvae excavate increase in size as they grow and travel irregularly through the rhizome. They cause the most damage by affecting the tissue near the lateral roots, interrupting sap flow.

After this period, they undergo a pupal stage of about eight days, without forming a protective cocoon. The total cycle takes between 30 and 40 days.

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