🚨 ARTHROPOD OF THE DAY 🚨

Easter egg weevils are flightless beetles native to the oceanic islands of Southeast Asia, with their highest concentration of biodiversity in the Philippine archipelago. While they are found in a wide variety of ecosystems—from coastal forests to cloud forests at elevations up to 3,200 feet (1,000 meters)—their flightlessness restricts populations to their immediate environment. In places where multiple Pachyrhynchus species are present, they evolve to mimic each other.

This type of mimicry, known as Müllerian mimicry, occurs when multiple unpalatable species evolve to share similar external characteristics to deter predators. And though these weevils do not secrete any toxins, their hard exoskeletons are nearly impenetrable to predators (and are even known to break or bend the pins scientists use to collect them.)

While many insects get their warning hues from various pigments—which tend to fade over time—Easter egg weevils have structural coloration, or colorful scales embedded in their cuticles. These brightly colored patterns are made up of layers of tiny, angled discs that reflect light in different directions.