Most of the dominant families - such as the Carabidae (ground-beetles), Scarabaeidae (chafers), or Curculionidae (weevils) have a distribution as wide as the order.
In the Triassic rocks of Switzerland remains of weevils (Curculionidae) occur, a family which is considered by many students the most specialized of the order.
The Scolytidae, or bark-beetles, are a family of some 1500 species, closely allied to the Curculionidae, differing only in the feeble development of the snout.
In all climates fruit and forest trees suffer from weevils or Curculionidae.
In Europe a number of " long-snouted " beetles, such as the raspberry weevils (Otiorhynchus picipes), the apple blossom weevil (Anthonomus pomorum), attack fruit; others, as the " corn weevils " (Calandra oryzae and C. granaria), attack stored rice and corn; while others produce swollen patches on roots (Ceutorhynchus sulcicollis), &c. All these Curculionidae are very timid creatures, falling to the ground at the least shock.