Giraffe Weevil

Well, we were impressed and thrilled to find one of these in Andasibe NP as it is a creature that everyone wants to see in madagascar - but seeing the necks on all the others here in JD, it is clear that this one must be a juvenile with such a short neck!

comments (3)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

It could also be a female:

Posted 8 years ago, modified 8 years ago
1. Barry
  
  Lion
  
  Yes, you are right. I guess that I just assumed that the long neck was a secondary sexual characteristic and that the females would have a very short neck. I love all of the cool Natural History I learn on this site: "A day without learning is a day lost"! Posted 8 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    True to that! I only learned about the females because we found both genders on the same plant, clearly showing the differences. Although you could say that if anything is out of proportion for a species, it very often it is males competing for mating rights. Posted 8 years ago

The Giraffe weevil

The giraffe weevil is a weevil endemic to Madagascar. It derives its name from an extended neck much like that of the common giraffe. The giraffe weevil is sexually dimorphic, with the neck of the male typically being 2 to 3 times the length of that of the female. Most of the body is black with distinctive red elytra covering the flying wings. The total body length of the males is just under an inch , among the longest for any attelabid species. The extended neck is an adaptation that assists in.. more

Info 19 1

Similar species: Beetles

Species identified by Barry