Yellow poplar weevils or magnolia weevils (also known as Sassafras weevils) are small black beetles that often damage yellow poplar, magnolia and sassafras in western North Carolina in the spring of the year. The adult insects chew holes in the leaves of plants. The holes are the size and shape of curved rice grains.

Between the feeding of adults and larvae the insect can cause considerable damage and some leaf loss. While injured leaves cause the trees to be unsightly, insect damage to established magnolias and other trees does not affect overall plant health.