Fact: flies are the coolest insects.
If you don’t believe me, take a look at this newly described weevil, Timorus sarcophagoides Vanin & Guerra, from Brazil, which is doing everything it can to fool you into thinking it’s a flesh fly (family Sarcophagidae).
Take a look at what came in the mail last week:
That’s right, I’m wearing the season’s hottest new fashion item: Weevil on Cotton by the Bug Geek!
Here’s the deal: you can get your own right here (with a Pi-day special to boot), and all the proceeds go to help grad student/bug blogger extraordinaire The Geek in Question (AKA the Bug Geek) attend BugShot 2012! All sorts of win going on people!
Of course, if you prefer your Bug Geekery filled with coffee, there are plenty of fashionable options!
When it comes to insect pests, few have been so devastating yet controlled and managed as the Boll Weevil (Anthonomus grandis). An introduced pest of US cotton in the early 20th century, the Boll Weevil has largely been eradicated thanks to a massive effort by the USDA (which might explain why there are only 4 photos of this beetle on BugGuide).
It’s not often that a major insect pest is praised, yet in Enterprise, Alabama, they’ve erected a statue in its honour! Why? Because it so devastated the local cotton plantations that farmers switched to peanut farms, where they found great commercial success! Enterprise, AL is definitely on my dream roadtrip schedule now!
Of course, Boll Weevils aren’t the only entomologically related statues in the US; Mormon crickets (Anabrus simplex) were also immortalized, sort of. In this case, it was their demise by California Gull which is being remembered, but still, an insect-related statue is an insect-related statue!
As you may have noticed, I didn’t get around to answering last week’s photo challenge; imagine that… There are still plenty of points up for grabs and not many guesses, so why not take a stab at what it might be. Hopefully I’ll get time to post the full story next week, but given my track record with sticking to schedules, best not hold your breath!
This song is available on iTunes – Mississippi Boll Weevil Blues – Complete Recordings, CD A
