NEN Gallery

a weevil, i.e. a beetle of the family Curculionidae. It is around 10mm long and its head is extended into an elongated snout, the rostrum. It is a frequent and sometimes conspicuous species on patches of Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica). Although usually to be encountered on Nettles, it is just as likely to occur on most other low vegetation types. This species, shows a certain amount of variation in colouration. Its basic colour is black, but the beetle is extensively coated with metallic, typically green to blue-green or even coppery scales. As it get older more of the black ground colour is revealed as the scales are rubbed away. Picture taken at Old Warden Woods 29th May 2012