{"product_id":"giraffe-weevil-trachelophorus-giraffa","title":"Giraffe Weevil (Trachelophorus giraffa)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe male Giraffe Weevil (Trachelophorus giraffa) has a neck two to three times longer than the female's, giving it a silhouette that looks more like surrealist sculpture than a beetle. Endemic to the forests of Madagascar, this extraordinary insect uses its absurd proportions for a surprisingly practical purpose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGiraffe Weevils are found in the rainforests and deciduous forests of eastern Madagascar, where they are associated with a small tree known locally as the \"giraffe beetle tree\" (Dichaetanthera arborea). Males use their extended necks in combat, wrestling with rivals over access to females in slow, deliberate bouts that look like miniature jousting tournaments. The winning male mates while the female carefully rolls a single leaf into a tight tube, lays an egg inside, and snips it from the branch - a precisely engineered nursery that falls to the forest floor, where the larva develops in relative safety.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMadagascar's long isolation from mainland Africa has produced a remarkable array of endemic species, and the Giraffe Weevil is among the most visually dramatic. The exaggerated neck of the male is a product of sexual selection - the same evolutionary force responsible for the peacock's tail and the narwhal's tusk - and demonstrates that even among beetles, natural selection does not always favour the subtle or the streamlined.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Axisophy","offers":[{"title":"Large (50 × 70 cm | 20 × 28 in)","offer_id":45864086700193,"sku":"APW-BUG-GIW-P-500x700-AM-COL","price":50.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"XLarge (70 × 100 cm | 28 × 40 in)","offer_id":45864086732961,"sku":"APW-BUG-GIW-P-700x1000-AM-COL","price":80.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0483\/1546\/5889\/files\/Axisophy-GiraffeWeevil-mockup-1.jpg?v=1770826168","url":"https:\/\/axisophy.com\/products\/giraffe-weevil-trachelophorus-giraffa","provider":"Axisophy","version":"1.0","type":"link"}