This large (about 1 cm long) billbug or snout beetle is an occasional pest of rice in Louisiana. It belongs to the genus Sphenophorus, of which there are several similar species. The grub is the damaging stage of this insect. It feeds in the stems of rice plants on the edge of the field or on levees. Flooding apparently inhibits the insect. Symptoms of billbug feeding resemble those of borer injury, dead or dying leaves or whiteheads (blank panicles). When the stem is split near the base, grubs can often be found.