Giraffe weevil from Madagascar. giraffe weevil

There are moments in life when you look at some picture in a book or encyclopedia and meet there a completely unfamiliar creature that looks as if it immigrated onto this page from a book of fairy tales or stories about non-existent creatures.

These are the thoughts that come to a person when he has the opportunity to meet such a representative of the living world of the planet as the giraffe beetle. Its unique name speaks for itself. And after reading or hearing it, you can be absolutely sure that this is some kind of “little animal” with a completely unusual, even peculiar appearance.

If we think sensibly, then it is quite clear that our Mother Nature, of course, did her best: some were given good health as a gift, some received talent, and some received an interesting and unique appearance. Here, as they say, to each his own. But what can you say about the fact that some people live with the dream of having such a unique specimen as a pet, instead of the usual kitten or puppy.

In this situation, everyone has completely different thoughts and opinions in their heads. Someone may think that this is nonsense and keeping a beetle in the house is no longer normal, even if it is very rare and purebred, someone will think that this is really amazing and will envy the determination of this dreamer, but some do not think and do not reason - they take it and start it, putting all their courage and effort into it.

Having acquired such a miracle of nature, you will undoubtedly be able to stand out among all the people around you and your pet will not only delight you every day, but will also cause a storm of different feelings and emotions among the majority of all your friends and acquaintances.

If it comes to choosing a friend for your little one, then there is absolutely no need to follow the usual rules, because the choice of a friend is your personal and purely individual matter. And whether it’s a beetle or a dog, it doesn’t matter at all, the main thing is that you both feel good and feel joy after meeting your pupil when you return home after a hard day at work.

Before searching all the websites of online pet stores, you should get to know your extraordinary “little animal” better.

Family ties and native lands of giraffe beetles

In the large friendly kingdom of living organisms that are residents of our world, there lives a small creature, to which nature has given a very bright and original appearance. This specimen is called the giraffe beetle (lat. Trachelophorus giraffa). Zoological scientists attributed it to the tubeweaver family, the Coleoptera order, and the insect class.

In the event that the thought came to you that you want to see such a long-necked miracle on his home territory, then to make this goal a reality you should go to the large island of Madagascar. To be more precise, in the southeast of the island there is a small province of Fianarantsoa, ​​in which there is one picturesque place called Ranomafana National Park. It is there, among the dense evergreens tropical forests, ferns and graceful orchids you can find this cute little bug. Although it is rarely possible to meet him when he leisurely walks along the paths of his native land.

This coleopterous insect got its name because it has a long neck in relation to its body, like a giraffe, so people, seeing this “resemblance”, called it the giraffe beetle.

If you trust some sources, the species of these pretty bugs was discovered quite recently, only in 2008. There are not so many of these bright representatives of the close-knit family of tubeweeds in open nature. But no one can say for sure about them protective status. Even on such a responsible issue, the opinions of scientists differed. Some scientists argue that they should be protected by law, since they may disappear from the face of the earth. But some of them are sure that the reason is not at all that their limited quantity in living nature - the whole problem is that these creations of nature have not been sufficiently studied.

Description of the appearance of giraffe beetles

As for the exterior of this arthropod insect, then in its creation Mother Nature certainly worked very hard and showed all her imagination and creative thinking. If we talk about this “giraffe” and the features of his appearance, then we can firmly and very confidently say: “Once you see it, you will never forget it!” And this is true. Looking at his photographs on various pages of the World Wide Web or in books about animals, the thought naturally arises that this is some kind of “super model” among all big world entomology.

All footage of this beetle is a work of art. The rich colors of the insect’s body, combined with the beautiful landscape in the photo, are simply mesmerizing and willy-nilly make you admire it.

Probably the most visible and most publicized part of the giraffe-like bug's body is its neck. This attraction is not only a part of the body, but also a weapon, an instrument that helps him in creating conditions of comfort in his everyday life, as well as in the process of procreation. The length of the neck often exceeds the size of the entire body of the insect, but this only happens in males.

The structure of the neck of these very extraordinary “bugs” is not quite elementary. They have it represented by two almost independent departments. The lower “floor” is the so-called prothorax, which looks slightly elongated. The forelimbs are attached to this part. The upper part of the neck is a kind of continuation of the head capsule, shaped a little like a tube. The neck of these arthropods ends with a very small head, which, in relation to the size of the beetle as a whole, seems extremely tiny. It contains the oral chewing system, which provides necessary processing food products chimney giraffe.

After all, as entomologists say, these representatives of the living world of the planet are not born as such: the neck of males grows during development, as a result of adaptation to harsh conditions external environment. It is known that male beetles are real gentlemen by nature and take on all men’s work on their own necks, in the literal sense of the word. It is the neck that helps them build cozy nests for their family.

Another feature in the body structure of these mysterious creatures is the presence of an additional neck joint, thanks to which they can quickly bend up and down without much difficulty, which helps them in mating games and in the process of obtaining food.

Females are more miniature and proportional, the size of their neck is approximately two to three times smaller. The total body length of the original Coleoptera beetle is approximately 20–28 mm.

It is impossible not to mention the unusually beautiful coloring of the body of the giraffe beetle, which was created by nature with special sophistication and correct combination of shades. The entire body of the Coleoptera specimen of the genus, including the head, neck, abdomen and limbs, is painted a rich jet black color. But the elytra appear before our eyes in a beautiful noble bright red color. One more thing characteristic property The colors of the body of this arthropod are the glossy shine of almost the entire body; one cannot help but pay attention to how its color shimmers under direct sunlight.

Insect reproduction method

These fabulous living creatures are not only the happy owners of an extraordinary appearance, but they also managed to stand out with an extremely original method of reproduction.

The thing is that the female representatives of these pretty insects prefer to create “new social units” only with the most worthy and strong “male” beetles. To do this, so-called battles are held among the stronger half of the beetles for the right to mate with a female giraffe beetle. No matter how much one or another male craves victory, in these bloody battles there is still one rule that they do not violate under any circumstances. It implies that under no circumstances should any participant lose their life, they simply choose the strongest among those participating. And throughout the entire period of this action, the female watches the progress of these military actions, just like emperors Ancient Rome admired the gladiator battles.

The whole point of the battle is to knock down your opponents. But there are various situations, even in the life of insects. In the event that the battle continues for a long period of time, and the strength of the long-necked competitors is equal, then the right to choose goes to the “female” beetle herself. When the fight is over or stopped by the female, the mating procession soon occurs.

Also, the winning male is not only the strongest, but also caring and prudent and treats his future offspring with special trepidation. First, he spends a long time looking for the leaf he needs, then, with the help of his unusually long neck, he rolls it into a small bundle, which in appearance resembles a small tube or barrel. Then expectant mother it lays its only egg in this “cradle”.

Almost all representatives of this family do this, which is where the name “pipe runners” comes from.

But not all snorkeling giraffes are decent and caring “husbands.” Most of them leave their chosen one almost immediately after the end of the mating process. After all, the female lays the egg after some time and, alone, packs it in a special leaf.

If everything went without any problems and the enemy individuals did not reach the future giraffe beetle, then after a few days its larva begins to gradually make its way out from its small shelter. In the event that the “baby” does not quite have enough strength to get out of its house, then the maternal instinct of the long-necked female does its job, and she independently cuts a way out for her baby.

Peculiarities of behavior of giraffe insects in an open environment

Speaking about these extraordinary living creatures, we can say that they are avid homebodies. After all, it is not common for them to leave their habitat, and besides, they rarely even go out for a walk.

They spend most of their free time from sleep in trees. There they construct nests for themselves, where they live, or simply on the surfaces of leaves. In these places, weevils can bask in the sun for hours, taking sunbathing. But in the trees they not only laze around, but also get food. The thing is that they feed on the hard leaves of only a few types of trees, and most often they live on them.

If someone is very lucky, they also occasionally have the opportunity to meet them on the roads. There they can stroll or simply relax on the roadside.

Giraffe beetle nutrition

In the event that we are talking about the diet of this representative of the world fauna, then he can be called with full confidence, putting aside all unnecessary doubts, a gourmet. After all, as you know, this cunning giraffe bug eats only leaves that grow on only two types of trees - Dichaetanthera cordifolia and Dichaetanthera arborea. It is on these representatives of the flora that they live, feed on them, and on them their baby bugs are born and grow up. So, in principle, these two trees can be conditionally called the Homeland of the fabulous giraffe beetle.

Keeping various bugs as pets is not entirely common, but even today it is absolutely not surprising. But as for this particular type of insect, due to the fact that their population is relatively very young and has been studied only in general outline, then acquiring such a long-necked friend and comrade is not a very simple task, one might even say almost impossible.

In the event that fortune turned to face you, and you eventually managed to acquire such a the cutest creature nature, it’s perhaps too early to rejoice. The whole problem is that, as we already know, these arthropods are very demanding on their diet, and these trees, unfortunately, do not grow in our area. Perhaps scientists will soon find some alternative to the favorite leaves of these insect-like “gerafics”, but if you are not going to move to hot Africa, then you should still wait a while before getting such a pet.

Many, of course, may think that this is not a serious problem, because you can try giving him a variety of leaves, maybe he likes something and then everything will be fine, but do not forget that something completely innocent can die living creature, whose relatives are not very many on our big planet.

Perhaps you are confident that you can provide your little friend with adequate nutrition, then you can think about where to place him.

Usually, terrariums or insectariums are used for comfortable living of various insects. A pet like the giraffe beetle requires enough space so that it can calmly walk around its property without feeling any oppression.

The approximate dimensions of the insectarium should be approximately 50x50x100 cm.

As for the flooring, finely ground untreated peat may be suitable for it, but it should not be dry. It would also be good to equip his personal apartment with various branches, branches and pieces of wood or bark. This will allow the homeowner to maintain his physical strength and just have fun sometimes.

In the home of your African giraffe-shaped insect, it is necessary to maintain a constant temperature level, which should range from 22 to 28 degrees. An equally important condition is the air humidity coefficient. The air in the bug's home should not be allowed to dry out, so the humidity level should not be lower than 70%. To prevent this, daily spraying is necessary.

It is extremely difficult to name the price of this giraffe beetle, since it is not available for free sale.

See what a giraffe beetle looks like in this video:

The giraffe weevil (lat. Trachelophorus giraffa) is a kind of “mixture of a bulldog with a rhinoceros” in the world of insects. Of course, this insect has no direct relation to the giraffe. It’s just that nature probably decided to surprise us a little and it worked out great.

The giraffe weevil got its name because of its very long neck, which sometimes exceeds the length of the beetle's body. This creation of nature lives exclusively on the island. Madagascar, in dense forests national park Ranomafana.

So unusual appearance Only males can boast. In females, the neck is 2-3 times shorter. These beetles are the largest representatives of the family of tubeweeds (lat. Attelabidae), and not weevils (Curculionidae), based on the name. It’s just that some types of tubeweeds are very similar in appearance to weevils, but there are still differences. They consist in the shape of the head, pronotum, legs and antennae.

Only males have a long neck
The top picture is a female, the bottom picture is a male

It's not that difficult to spot this bug. Firstly, most often they like to rest or crawl in open areas or on roadsides, and secondly, they have a bright red and black color. The entire body of the beetle, including the head and legs, is painted black, but the elytra are rich red. Males can reach 2.5 centimeters in length.

But why does he have such a long neck? The answer to this question lies in the reproduction process of these insects. The female giraffe weevil, like many tubeweevils, lays its only egg on a leaf. But the leaf is not simple, but carefully rolled by the male into a tube or a kind of “barrel”. It was precisely in order to reach out and build a “lullaby” for his future offspring that nature rewarded him with such long neck.

Male and female on a leaf

Tube-cradles are created not only by “giraffes”, but also by many other species of this family, which is why it got its name - tube-turners.

Giraffe weevils are very picky when it comes to food. They feed on the leaves of only two types of small trees - Dichaetanthera cordifolia and Dichaetanthera arborea. They lay their eggs on them.

- a species of beetles from the tubeweed family. He is one of the largest representatives of this family.

photo by Pere Soler flickr.com

Habitat

The weevil lives on a relatively limited range - the tropical island of Madagascar, which is located off the east coast of Africa. In the dense forests of Ranomafana, the island's national park, you can find this amazing animal almost everywhere - it has a bright color and loves to bask in the sun. Naturally, the name of the beetle speaks for itself, because the long neck is somewhat reminiscent of a cloven-hoofed giraffe.

Unusual appearance

Many males different types animals differ in some way from females. So in this case, the giraffe weevil, namely the male, has a neck much longer than the female’s neck (2-3 times). The beetle's head is directed forward and smoothly extended in the form of a tube. The thick “rostrum” widens towards the apex and hump-shapedly swells at the point where the antennae are attached. The eyes are oblong, relatively large, but do not protrude beyond the contours of the head.

photo by Ralph Kränzlein flickr.com

The upper half ring of the chest is cone-shaped and extended forward. The humeral tubercles are pronounced, the elytra are wider than the front back and are bright red in color with micro grooves (about 10 pieces). The giraffe weevil has wings and flies well. Its body is naked, not covered with scales, and black in color. The length of the beetle reaches 2.5 cm.

The benefits of uniqueness

The uniqueness of the male helps him greatly in everyday life. The giraffe weevil uses its long neck in battles with other males to win the attention of the female. During the mating “fights”, the male weevil swings his neck against another male in the same way as the spotted giraffe, he tries to knock down his opponent and show his advantage. The male beetle that wins the fight mates with the female and uses its neck to build a home for future offspring.

photo by Bernard DUPONT flickr.com

Home for posterity

Inside, the larvae develop in leaf tissues that slowly undergo rotting and fermentation processes. Once the eggs hatch into little larvae, they will immediately have a good vegetarian diet as they can eat their nest to gain energy and start life. We can say that this barrel house simultaneously serves as reliable protection for the larvae and good food.

Weevil giraffe menu

Like its tall, spotted namesake, this beetle is a herbivore and feeds on the leaves of the trees it lives on. He particularly likes the leaves of Dichaetanthera arborea or Dichaetanthera cordifolia, also known as giraffe weevil trees. Beetles rarely move far from their green house and food source.

— Despite its somewhat unique appearance, the giraffe weevil is not dangerous to humans. It doesn't bite or sting.

- This is a peaceful insect and does not show aggression towards other types of beetles and insects.

— Lasiorynchus barbicornis- another beetle that has the name giraffe weevil, but it is from New Zealand and is not related to this species.

— Giraffe weevil (Trachelophorus giraffa) was discovered in 2008 on the island of Madagascar and so far little is known about it. So researchers have some work to do.

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Unique insect giraffe weevil - unusual inhabitant earth, a celebrity in the animal world. The beetle gained incredible popularity due to its unusual structure. Abnormally and awkwardly, bizarrely bent legs, reminiscent of the structure of the legs of a spider, gave the insect an unusual appearance. The long-necked beetle with brightly colored elytra looks like a fantastic alien creature.

This one was discovered in 2008. There is practically no information about him. The range of insects is quite small. However, scientists believe that the population is not endangered and is not on the verge of extinction. Natural enemies has not yet been found in the giraffe weevil.

giraffe weevil

Let's describe what the giraffe weevil looks like. The neck of beetles is so long that sometimes longer than body insects The remark is valid only for males. The necks of females are two to three times shorter. The beetles grow up to 2.5 centimeters in length.

The beetles are painted in contrasting shades. Their body, legs and head are black, and the elytra shine bright red. Thanks to such war paint, it is difficult not to notice them. Especially when they leave the trees, crawl, rest and bask in the sun, getting out to the side of the road or open areas.

Origin of the name

In the mammal kingdom there is one long-necked animal - the giraffe. By analogy with it (due to its colossally long neck), the beetle received original title- giraffe weevil. Otherwise, there is nothing in common between a giraffe and an insect. Nature is just in once again surprised humanity with her skill in creating incredible things. In Latin its name sounds like Trachelophorus giraffa.

Distribution area

The beetle's homeland is the island of Madagascar, located next to east coast Africa. The insect lives in trees, in dense forests, national park Ranomafana. The island is isolated from the mainland by ocean waters, which prevent the spread of populations. This is how scientists explain the appearance unusual creatures only on its territory.

The giraffe weevil, apparently, like other Madagascar endemics, is not able to overcome a water barrier, and therefore is not found in any other corner of the world. Although there is evidence that a species of this beetle was found in New Zealand. However, the individuals living in Madagascar are much more beautiful and interesting.

Mating season and reproduction

If giraffes need a long neck to pluck leaves from trees, then beetles need it for completely different purposes. For males, the elongated neck is, in fact, a convenient tool for creating a “cradle” for the only cub.

During the mating season, the male, as expected, fights with rivals for the right to own the female. The lady of the heart is patiently waiting for the end of the battle between the contenders. She will have offspring with the winner of the fight. The giraffe weevil never fights to the death.

The male carefully rolls the leaf, giving it the shape of a barrel. The female lays only one egg in this tube nest. Similar barrel-cradles are made by other species of beetles belonging to the family Attelabidae. The peculiarity of forming houses for offspring served as the name for the family - tubeworms. Next we will tell you more about the classification.

Tube runner family

The giraffe weevil insect belongs to the tubeweevil family. Based on the name of the beetle, it would be logical to include it in the weevil family. However, it differs from the representatives of this family.

And some confusion in the name and classification arose due to the fact that weevils are similar in appearance to individual tubeworms. The giraffe weevil differs from individuals from the family Curculionidae the shape of the head, pronotum, paws and whiskers.

Nutritional Features

When it comes to food, the giraffe weevil is very picky and picky. He can easily be called a gourmet. Individuals prefer to eat the leaves of two small trees - Dichaetanthera cordifolia And Dichaetanthera arborea where they spend most of their time.

They use the leaves of the same trees to build a house where the females will lay their eggs. At first, it is the cradle tube that provides nutrition to the offspring. Females roll barrel houses so that the young can get food.

Giraffe beetle.

This INSECT got its name from its very long neck, but... Unlike a REAL GIRAFFE, it serves the beetle as a WEAPON.

Representatives of the tube-turner family have very unusual feature - long noses, which sometimes even resemble miniature elephant trunks.

These beetles seem to sniff leaves and soil. In children's cartoons they often add a small mouth under the proboscis. It is actually an elongated part of the head, and the mouth is a tiny hole at the very tip of the proboscis. But the giraffe beetle unusual appearance managed to outdo the rest of the pipe divers.

The structure of the giraffe beetle.

MIRACLE-YUDO FROM MADAGASCAR

"Diapers" for eggs.

The giraffe beetle lives in Madagascar, home of many amazing creatures. It feeds on the leaves of trees only of a certain species - Dichaetanthera cordifolio and Dichoetonthera orborea, growing in the unique forests of this large island in the Indian Ocean.

Nature has awarded the characteristic giraffe neck only to the males of this species; in females it is three times shorter. The neck consists of two sections. The lower one is an elongated prothorax - this is the part of the chest that usually carries the front legs. The upper neck is a tubular continuation of the head capsule. At the very end of the neck there is a very tiny, compared to the neck, head with a chewing oral apparatus, able to cope with tough leaves.

The neck is like a weapon.

MARRIAGE TOURNAMENTS

Sexual dimorphism in giraffe beetles evolved, as is common in males, due to competition. During mating season the female sits on a wide leaf to begin preparing the covers
for eggs, and males immediately appear next to her.

The rivals fight with their necks, trying to knock each other down. If the forces are equal, the female intervenes in the dispute, choosing one winner - perhaps a male with a longer neck. Soon after the tournament, mating occurs. The female then wraps the egg in a leaf, but the winning male does not leave her.