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Tag Archives: Gorse weevil

Gorse weevils and dung flies

22 Wednesday Feb 2023

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British weevils, Dung fly, flowering Gorse, Gorse weevil, weevils on Gorse, Yellow dung fly

Last Sunday was very Spring-like, the sunshine warm on your back if you were out of the wind. Nature thought so too and I was delighted to see some insects out and about. Though my first butterfly of the year, a Brimstone, didn’t linger long enough for a photo, the abundance of Gorse weevils on the flowering Gorse bushes were much more obliging.

230222 gorse weevils

And, on a rather large splatter of dog poo, which the dog’s owner hadn’t bothered to pick up, Dung flies were out in good numbers. Which is probably one of the very few reasons I would ever want to look closely at dog poo.

230222 dung fly

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First weevil

07 Thursday Apr 2022

Posted by sconzani in flowers, insects

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British weevils, Exapion ulicis, gorse flower, Gorse weevil, weevil

Woot! This teeny tiny beastie is my first weevil of 2022, as you can probably guess from the yellow flower it’s sitting on, a Gorse weevil (Exapion ulicis). I’ve read that they usually feed by poking their snout (properly known as a rostrum) into gorse stems and seeds but this one had its snout so firmly inserted into the flower that it looked like it would almost tip over.

220407 gorse weevil

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Small and green

13 Tuesday Apr 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British insects, Common Green Shieldbug, Exapion ulicis, Gorse weevil, Green shieldbug, Palomena prasina

Slowly, slowly, more insects are emerging. When I was getting a Gorse photo for last Sunday’s yellow wildflower challenge, this teeny tiny Gorse weevil (Exapion ulicis) paid a visit. I’m not sure if it was getting salt from my hand as it seemed quite reluctant to leave.

210413 gorse weevil

And yesterday I was scanning a Buddleja for leaf mines when I had the feeling I was being watched. This Common green shieldbug (Palomena prasina) was very well camouflaged sitting perfectly still on its leaf.

210413 green shieldbug

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98/366 Social distancing?

07 Tuesday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British weevils, gorse, Gorse flowers, Gorse weevil, mating weevils

Two’s company.

Three’s a crowd.

Uh oh!

Four’s … an orgy? The Gorse weevils I observed during yesterday’s exercise walk in a local park were blatantly ignoring the social distancing rules. Please don’t act like Gorse weevils!

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96/365 Gorse weevils and shieldbugs

06 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature, plants, spring

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

British insects, Exapion ulicis, gorse, Gorse shieldbug, Gorse weevil, Piezodorus lituratus, shieldbugs, weevils

I got some strange looks today when I was out walking – nothing unusual about that really. This time it was because I had my nose in a gorse bush looking for its special critters – and I found them. First, I was delighted to spot two tiny Gorse weevils (Exapion ulicis). I’ve only found them once before and these two led me a merry dance, in and around the gorse leaves, not wanting to have their photo taken. One disappeared but I managed to grab a couple of pics of the other.

190406 gorse weevil

The other critters were much easier, at least ten of them, probably many more, hiding in plain sight – that’s how well camouflaged they are. These Gorse shieldbugs (Piezodorus lituratus) were also camera shy and the gorse thorns made a few holes in my hands as I tried to pull the gorse this way and that to get some photos. But it was worth every speck of blood!

190406 gorse shieldbug (1)
190406 gorse shieldbug (2)
190406 gorse shieldbug (3)

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Weevil as biological controller

29 Monday May 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, plants

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Exapion ulicis, gorse, Gorse weevil, insects on gorse, weevil, weevil as biological control, weevil introduced to New Zealand

It was lunchtime on our Glamorgan botany group walk and, rather than get a wet bum from sitting on the damp grass, I was eating my roll and cheese while poking around the flowers of a nearby gorse bush. I was looking for Gorse shieldbugs, of which I found not a sign, but I did find this tiny creature and, after a bit more poking, a couple of its friends.

170529 Gorse weevil (2)

It’s a Gorse weevil (Exapion ulicis) and, as you can judge from its size relative to my finger, it’s tiny, only 2 to 3mm long. Its snout is (relatively) enormous, about half as long as its body, making it look like a cross between an elephant (without the ears) and a spider (those legs!). And that snout is its secret weapon – the weevil uses its snout to burrow into the stem and spines of the gorse bush to eat the soft tissue inside.

170529 Gorse weevil (1)

Apparently this little weevil was introduced to my homeland, New Zealand, back in 1931 in an effort to control the introduced (by British migrants as cheap hedging) gorse bushes that were thriving in New Zealand’s favourable climate. The weevil’s larvae live inside and eat gorse seeds, thus preventing the bushes from reproducing. The little gorse weevil has done its job well but it seems the scientists hadn’t banked on the fact that the weevil larvae only eat gorse seeds in the springtime and the gorse also flowers and seeds in the autumn.

170529 Gorse weevil (3)

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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