MADAGASCAR GIRAFFE-NECKED WEEVIL

Characteristics

One of the most bizarre bugs of Madagascar can be found in the eastern rainforests: the giraffe-necked weevil. When you see one, it’s clear how they got their common name, with an extremely elongated neck reminiscent of a giraffe. Males have the longest neck, stretching high up from the body. The neck is very flexible, able to bend from side to side or front to back. Female giraffe weevils have shorter necks, although they are still rather extended for an insect.

Despite it’s startling appearance, the giraffe-necked weevil is tiny, only one to two inches long (including the neck). The species belongs to the Attelabidae family of leaf-rolling weevils, but it is only found in Madagascar. Its body, legs, neck and knobby antennae are black, but it has bright red or orange wing sheaths on its back. This may serve as warning coloration to ward off predators, but not much is known yet about these insects, so the color might serve other purposes, perhaps even camouflage among red leaves. This weevil can fly: it lifts the hardened red covers to reveal transparent wings, which it spreads to fly short distances. It’s not very graceful, however—the flight is slow and rather bumpy.

Behavior

Giraffe-necked weevils are dependent on two species of Dichaetanthera trees, Dichaetanthera arborea and Dichaetanthera cordifolia, which are sometimes called the “giraffe beetle trees.” Both are more like bushes, with finely haired green leaves. The weevils feed on these leaves and their sap, and they use surprising dexterity to roll the leaves into protective tubes they can crawl into. During their entire lifecycle, estimated at only one year, the weevils never venture far from these trees.

Giraffe-necked weevils spend the night in their leaf “sleeping bags,” curled up with their necks tucked against their body. In the morning, they emerge to warm up, stretching out the neck to get the blood flowing. Males may then do some sparring: they use their long neck like a club to whack at one another. They swing the head and neck sideways or up and down against another male. During breeding, when they are competing for females, these battles become serious as they try to knock each other off the tree branches.

Foods and Feeding

Giraffe-necked weevils are herbivores, feeding on leaves and their sap. They spend their whole lives climbing and crawling around in the branches of the “giraffe beetle trees.”

Reproduction and Life Cycle

In the mating season, males fight for females by beating their necks at each other and trying to topple the opponent from a leaf. The winner then mates with the courted female. The female takes great care in laying and protecting her eggs. She lays one egg on a leaf, then uses her elongated neck to carefully roll up the thick leaf around the egg. She uses silk she produces to tightly wrap the leaf until it forms a cylindrical case. Then she snips the leaf packet off the tree, and it falls to the forest floor. When the tiny, yellow larva hatches inside, it already has its first meal readily available: it’s wrapped in it!

Conservation and Threats

While these weevils have not been studied extensively, their population seems to be stable, and they are listed by IUCN as Least Concern. However, because they are found in only one part of Madagascar and are dependent on only two species of trees, they could certainly be affected by habitat loss and deforestation. Here’s hoping these long-necked wonders live long!