While the water and decomposing organic matter found between bromeliad leaf axils provides refuge, humidity and food for an extensive biota of several hundred species, there are few phytophagous (plant-eating) insects that are known to occur on bromeliads. Florida's native bromeliads existed for many years with minimal insect pressure until the immigration of the Mexican bromeliad weevil (Metamasius callizona), which has received considerable attention among advocates of Florida's bromeliads. However, there is another bromeliad weevil (Metamasius mosieri, the Florida bromeliad weevil) that has co-existed with several species of bromeliads in Florida for many years. Its effect on Florida's bromeliads has been so minimal that until recently it was very rarely encountered, and the extent of its distribution in the state is still unclear.

The Florida bromeliad weevil probably arrived a very long time ago from the West Indies, as did the state's native bromeliads. Plants and animals present in North America before 1492 are generally considered native, and the weevil may have been present in Florida since before that time. There are no records of it in Florida before 1920, but we do not have early records for most of the state's native insect species, so we have no way of knowing exactly how long it has been in Florida. The weevil has likely become naturalized and has evolved together with its bromeliad host plants in Florida.

The weevil's likely long association with the species of Florida's native bromeliads that serve as its hostplants has allowed it to survive without wiping out its food supply. Where it is found, it occurs in very low numbers. It may have natural enemies that keep its population low, but none have been found. In addition, it appears to be restricted to small plants, being found primarily in seedlings of larger species like Tillandsia utriculata and in smaller species like Tillandsia balbisiana and Tillandsia paucifolia. As a result, the Florida bromeliad weevil does not threaten bromeliad populations in Florida and is not considered a pest.

Many details about the Florida bromeliad weevil are still unknown. Until the Mexican bromeliad weevil began to threaten Florida's native bromeliads, no one had looked for weevils in bromeliads in Florida's natural areas. A few specimens had been collected from southwestern Florida, but it was not even known in which plants they had been found, other than the original record, which identifies Tillandsia utriculata as the probable hostplant.

When attention was given to damage from the Mexican bromeliad weevil, it was noticed that this other, smaller weevil (Metamasius mosieri) was present in some small bromeliad plants. Surveys for the Mexican bromeliad weevil in southwestern Florida in the early 1990s yielded several Florida bromeliad weevils in Tillandsia balbisiana. Around the same time, a bromeliad grower in Lee County reported some imported bromeliads in shadehouses being attacked by the Florida bromeliad weevil (Tillandsia bergeri, T. bulbosa, T. concolor, T. geminiflora, T. gardneri, T. hondurensis, T. ionantha, T. jucunda, T. rhomboidae, T. streptophylla, T. stricta and T. vernicosa). All of these species are small bromeliads. It is now known to occur also on Tillandsia fasciculata, Tillandsia setacea, Tillandsia simulata, Tillandsia variabilis, Tillandsia paucifolia, Tillandsia flexuosa, and Tillandsia bartramii.

This weevil is of concern to the biological control efforts against the Mexican bromeliad weevil in Florida. It is one of only three species of Metamasius weevils in Florida and is the only Metamasius species that is probably native to the state. Any biological control agent proposed for release against the Mexican bromeliad weevil must be tested on the Florida bromeliad weevil and the third species of Metamasius, the silky cane weevil (Metamasius hemipterus).

See the Featured Creatures article on Florida Bromeliad Weevil for details on what is known about this weevil's biology.