The giraffe weevil is a splendid endemic beetle which you can find in the forests of Aotearoa. These beetles are most recognisable by their very long ‘nose’ known as a rostrum which is used by females as a drill, and males as a weapon.
Male weevils fight each other for access to females, but when up against a disproportionately large competitor smaller males exhibit sneaking behaviour to successfully mate with a female instead.
Natural History Curator Rebecca Le Grice will highlight some of the work that has been done to date to better understand the ecology, behaviour and evolution of these amazing and intriguing beetles.