weevil under the sun

Some of you dear readers have warned me that my aceptance of Windows 10 will simple let more bugs loose in my computer.  Maybe so.

But I still have plenty here in my courtyard.  During our last rain, this interesting guy showed up.

Obviously a beetle -- from that huge insect order Coleoptera.  Saying that does not narrow down the seach very much.  I have heard that the vast variety of beetles constitutes one-quarter of life forms on earth.  That boast obviously has some techincal biological limits.  After all, I assume bacteria outweigh them in actual numbers.

However, that is mere quibbling.  There are beetles galore out there.  When I built my insect collection for my sphomore mandatory project, the box was filled primarily with beetles.

None of them looked like this guy.  I knew a quick way of narrowing down his identification, though.  His nose.  No beetles but weevils have some an obvious Durante.

And I was correct.  Rhinostomus barbirostris, to be exact.  One of the largest weevils in the world.  I certainly have not seen one as large as this.  It was only slightly smaller than a 1958 Buick.

This one was a female.  The males sport a golden beard on that snout, giving the insect its other common name -- bottlebrush beetle.

Fortunately for her, I no longer collect insects.  I simply shoot them and publish their stories.  Some may wonder if that is an improvement.

The only question now is whether any bugs this size will start haunting Windows 10.  If so, my bug tales are not yet at an end.