Eclectic Perambulations in the Noosphere
by Shikhei Goh
"This photo was taken when I was taking photos of other insects, as I normally did during macro photo hunting. I wasn’t actually aware of this dragonfly since I was occupied with other objects. When I was about to take a picture of it, it suddenly rained, but the lighting was just superb. I decided to take the shot regardless of the rain."
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"The acorn weevil, Curculio, is one of the weevils that infest hardwood nuts. These weevils attack both red and white oaks and are found wherever the hosts grow. These live adult weevils were found in a large grove of Butternut, Shagbark Hickories and Oak trees at the original site of the Native American burial mounds at Winfield, IL USA.
Acorn weevils have snouts with small, saw-like teeth at the very end. There are two types, or genera: the long-snouted acorn weevils (genus Curculio) and the short-snouted ones (genus Conotrachelus). The longsnouted acorn weevil's snout may be equal to or greater than the length of its body. These specimens are, of course, the long-snouted variety.
Adults of both genera feed on acorns, but only the long snouted weevils can drill into the shells to feed and lay eggs inside the nutmeat. The tip of the snouth is actually a miniature saw, and the weevil places the tip against the shell, circling endlessly around the pivot point until the shell is pierced. Females place eggs inside the nut using a long ovipositor that descends from the abdomen..."
