ACORN WEEVIL

WHAT is one to make of this cute and curious little critter? Only a few millimetres long, the acorn weevil has the most preposterous looking elongated snout, giving it the appearance of a mini-anteater or a surreal character from a children’s book.

It is mostly found in southern, central and eastern England, but has been recorded in some locations in the South West, so keep your eyes peeled in midsummer. You get an idea of how small they are from this captivating macro picture by wildlife photographer Timothy Sexton of one balanced on an acorn.

The reason for the long snout – known as a rostrum and featuring mouthparts at the end – is to chew a channel into an acorn into which eggs are laid. The larvae hatch and feed on the acorn and when it falls to the ground they eventually bore their way out, burying into the soil where they can remain for many months before emerging as adults. Given the damage they cause to acorns, which fail to germinate once damaged by larvae, they can be considered a pest in some oak woodlands.