The lesser of two heather weevils
Posted by Graeme Lyons , Tuesday, 15 May 2012 19:09
This is the tiny (less than 2 mm!) Small Heather Weevil Micrelus ericae. The name tells you everything. It's small and it likes heathers. Weevils really are something else under the microscope! We also recorded Heather Weevil Neliocarus sus, a larger and blacker broad-nosed weevil. We recorded both species by sweeping at Iping on Saturday but this one was so tiny, I had forgotten all about it! Neither of them seem to be scarce but are restricted to areas with the food plants. Right, I'm now on 3922 species, only 78 away from 4000. I have just ordered the 'Handbook of Marine Fauna of North-West Europe' so that will come in handy for getting down with the rock-pooling! But what will the 4000th species be and when will I reach it?...
Imagine being one of these creatures!