Flora & Fauna of Heraklion city: Lixus Pulverulentus (elongated bean weevil)

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Published on Dec 26, 2020

About :

I often visit my city, Heraklion ( @aboutheraklion ) to take pictures and videos so that I can share them to my accounts. A few days ago, I visited the city walls and climbed up the stairs.
I always feel an awe when I visit the city walls. The city walls were built by the Venetians hundred of years ago and they are the largest fortification work in the Mediterranean.¹

During the lockdown it was not so easy to visit, so imagine my happiness when after so much time, I came back to see that everything around was green and bright!

Before I started filming, I wanted to take a look around, so I went to see some wild fauna in the area.

I was so surprised to see some pretty amazing insect that I had never seen before..

I went near it to take a closer look and guess what?

A little insect that was trying to come on me!

Of course I was not afraid, but I did not want to touch it before learning more about what it was.

What is this?

It is called Lixus Pulverulentus (elongated bean weevil)²

How I discovered its scientific name?

I am a member in a Greek Facebook group where people can ask information about flora & fauna of their area. But if I received no reply, I would try reverse image in the internet, I am sure I would eventually discover what it was.

How does it look like?

It actually is cute to look at! A bright yellow color catches your attention, it has 6 legs, the 2 front are longer and they are used to move around. It has a long (elephant like trunk)
(Of course we always check by the name to make sure that our species' images correspond to the species we have found)

About Lixus Pulverulentus

It is approximately 11 to 16 mm long and it is phytophagous (this means that it feeds on other plants). This species is widespread throughout the Mediterranean basin, From Europe to North Africa and it is also found on the Atlantic coasts of Morocco, the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands.

We are also reading that it is considered a pest, known to induce many damages on plants especially to fava bean. ⁴

Behaviour

This is my personal opinion, based only on this encounter. However I admit that this beetle did not seem to be afraid - at all.. As a matter of fact, it was trying to grasp to me! (I would allow it if I knew that it was not dangerous)

Notes

It has been difficult to find information about this species. I hope that at least it enlightens you and that we know what we are looking at next time we meet this :)

What do you think? Have you ever seen this?

Thank you for visiting!

Images / Videos my own

Location:

Who am I?

I am Katerina from Crete, Greece. An enthusiastic content creator with a passion for photography. Interested in the blockchain technology, in new social media platforms and in trying to educate new users who wish to explore the blockchain social media world and its possibilities!