Weevils are beetles, one of the most diverse orders of insects (400,000 species so far), and the largest family of beetles are the weevils with about 83,000 species described!
Some of the species in my local area have a blotchy black and white pattern meant to mimic bird feces, no one wants to eat that! If you click to see the full sized picture, you can dicern the white patch seems rough and hairy, while the black elytra have a textured and pitted surface.
This weevil has scale like structures rather than the hair that the above weevil has.
Most weevils have a long snout which they use to eat pollen, parts of flowers and fruit as well as burrowing into the hard shells of nuts to eat the delicious insides.
Another interesting feature is that the legs are on ball joints. Weevils have rather thick carapaces to protect themselves from predation and the ball and socket joint gives maximum mobility. They also contain rather large muscles for clinging to stems and climbing around.
From the side:
Click on any photo so see the original size!
Leave a comment or question! :)
