The giraffe weevil is sexually dimorphic, with the neck of the male being two or three times longer than the neck of...

The giraffe weevil is sexually dimorphic, with the neck of the male being two or three times longer than the neck of the female. 
The extended neck is an adaptation that is used for intraspecific combat and nest building.

Males use their long necks to fight with other males to win the right to mate with a nearby female. They use them as a weapon to push and wrestle with the opponent.

The winner then mates with the female. The female then secures a leaf - from Dichaetanthera arborea - and uses it to build a cigar-like nest. To do so, she will fold and curl it multiple times. Then, she lays a single egg inside the leaf. Finally, she snips the leaf  from the plant, which falls to the forest floor. The leaf will provides sustenance to the newly-hatched larvae during its first days of life.

This leaf-rolling behaviour is not unique to the giraffe weevil, its something all Attelabidae species do and this is why they are commonly known as the leaf-rolling weevils.

Watch:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN-WjdA6uUo

Know more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Giraffe_weevil
http://www.strangeanimals.info/2014/03/Giraffe-Weevil.html#ixzz3i0ZNJRmQ


#biodiversity   #giraffeweevil   #coolcritters   #bugs