Up Close with Nature

Giraffe weevils / leaf rolling weevils / long necked beetles are one of my most favorite macro subjects. They are so just so cute and photogenic and a great fun to photograph, even more so when they are mating! I found my first giraffe weevil on March 8, 2008 - a male with long neck! But it wasn't until Oct 9, 2010 that I managed to find a mating pair of that particular species. More info here.

This is the fourth species of giraffe weevil / leaf rolling weevil I have found in Malaysia. I even found a female building nest! These have been IDed as: Korotyaevirhinus necopinus orientalis,  Legalov, 2003. (ID credit: Andrei) I took too many shots of these weevils....but who can resist such cuteness? :P Cute :) Yes, the weevil ate that much! When nature calls? No, it's not what you

Another type of giraffe weevils / leaf rolling weevils spotted. Very similar to the Cycnotrachelus sp. that I have often seen and photographed, but instead of on the Bridelia sp host plant, these were found of a different type of host plant, with relatively smaller leaves. No ID on the plant yet. Giraffe weevil, male, body length approximately 9mm including the neck, and 5.6mm excluding the neck

I was extremely excited when I found this spiny / spiky version of the more common Cycnotrachelus sp giraffe weevil / long necked beetle a couple of weeks ago. Edit: this spiny/spiky weaver has been IDed as Hoplapoderus hystrix (Fabricius, 1801). Thanks to Andrei from The leaf-rolling weevils (Coleoptera:  Rhynchitidae, Attelabidae) of the world fauna                              

A mating pair of  giraffe weevil / long necked beetle, Paracycnotrachelus sp. Ever since i spotted my first giraffe weevil back in March 8, 2008, I have been on the look out for for a mating pair. Finally, I got lucky on Oct 9, 2010. We found not just one but  two mating pairs on that day! If you search "giraffe weevil" on google.com, you can actually find my first giraffe weevil

An SLR macro photography tip on how and where to find the bug/insect/macro subject you want. In my previous post , I also shared another slr macro photography tip on where to shield bug/shield bug nymph. Most of the images here were shot with a Canon 40D, MPE65 1X-5X Macro Lens and MT24EX Macro Twin Flash with DIY Concave Diffuser. A female giraffe weevil/long necked beetle, Paracycnotrachelus

This is how a female giraffe weevil/long-necked beetle (Paracycnotrachelus sp) builds a nest and lays egg on its host plant,  Bridelia tomentosa plant. The female giraffe weevil/long necked beetle spends about one hour to complete building her nest and lay egg inside the cradle. All the images here were taken with a Nikon D80 and a Tamron SP90 The Bridelia tomentosa host plant is quite common in