onenicebugperday: Giraffe weevil, Trachelophorus giraffa, Attelabidae (leaf-rolling weevils)Found on
onenicebugperday: Giraffe weevil, Trachelophorus giraffa, Attelabidae (leaf-rolling weevils)Found only in Madagascar, this strange-looking species is sexually dimorphic - males have a very long, hinged, giraffe-like neck, while the neck of the female is still hinged but not as long. The long neck in males is used primarily for fighting other males, while females use theirs for nest building. As with other leaf-rolling weevils, females will roll a tree leaf into a tube, deposit an egg inside the tube, and then snip the stem so the rolled leaf falls to the ground. When the larva hatches, it will feed on the leaf it was wrapped in by its mother.(I can’t post this photo legally but here is a link to a photo of a female rolling a leaf into a nest.)Photo 1 by azph, 2-9 by greglasley, and 10 by nlblock -- source link