The male giraffe beetle, Lasiorrhynchus barbicornis, a member of a primitive weevil group of insects. The male can measure from 18cm to 75cm long; the female from 18cm to 47cm. The enormous protruding “rostrum" on the male is nearly as long as the body; on the female the protrusion is much shorter. Larvae of the beetle bore into solid, dead wood. Because the insect is shaped rather like a canoe, its Maori name is Tuwhaipapa — the god of the new-made canoe. The illustration comes from “New Zealand Insects and Their Story," by Richard Sharrell, reviewed today.
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Press, 26 February 1983, Page 16
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96The male giraffe beetle, Lasiorrhynchus barbicornis, a member of a primitive weevil group of insects. The male can measure from 18cm to 75cm long; the female from 18cm to 47cm. The enormous protruding “rostrum" on the male is nearly as long as the body; on the female the protrusion is much shorter. Larvae of the beetle bore into solid, dead wood. Because the insect is shaped rather like a canoe, its Maori name is Tuwhaipapa — the god of the new-made canoe. The illustration comes from “New Zealand Insects and Their Story," by Richard Sharrell, reviewed today. Press, 26 February 1983, Page 16
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