The seeds inside acorns are affected by many outside factors. One of these factors is insect infestation. Many acorns become infested with insect larvae, particularly weevils of the genus Curculio. Often, these insects bore into acorns to deposit their eggs, which will mature in spring. By fall, up to 60 percent of the acorn crop can be destroyed by the new maggot-sized insect larvae. These larvae contain high amounts of protein.

Do you think a squirrel that found an acorn infested with weevil larvae should:

Eat the acorn and the larvae. Yumm. Yumm

or

Cache the acorn to eat later.

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