Red Palm Weevil

Painted with Liquitex acrylic paints on acrylic paper.  First an underpainting was done with markers then I thin my acrylics with an airbrush medium making the paint more transparent and watercolor-like.  This makes the acrylics layer nicely while allowing the undercolors to peek through.

A fascinating little beetle the Palm Weevil is, but unfortunately they are considered pests in areas where palm trees are abundant.  The female is attracted to the sweet smell of palms.  At the palm she will find a soft spot in the base of the trunk.  There she will dig a hole with her rostrum (mouthparts at the end of what looks like a snout).  Then she deposits her eggs into the hole with her ovipositor.   When the larvae emerge they feed on the palm pulp . . .

The rest of the process starts to get a little more technical here.  For those of you that are interested you can read a more detailed description of the life cycle of Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, Red Palm Weevil here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhynchophorus_ferrugineus