Fear No (Figwort) Weevil

I was photographing the strange tiny flowers of figwort when I spotted this gorgeous weevil in his lovely black and white Tweed jacket.

Figwort is a strange plant, it has square stems and flowers that look like human throats and they smell horrible. The weird odour attracts wasps, which are its main pollinator. I got a whiff as a wasp called by. The scientific name Scrophularia comes from the throat disease because of the structure of the flowers. It has been used as a treatment for this form of tuberculosis.

I Googled "figwort + weevil" and was delighted to find that figwort has its own weevil. Weevils are one of my favourite insects. I particularly like the ones like this with big eyes and Clanger trunks.

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