Check out this bug with the long neck! It's not only long, but it's jointed in the middle. This is the giraffe weevil (Trachelophorus giraffa), native to Madagascar and only studied since 2008. So why the long neck? Only the males have this long neck, and they use it for mating dances and fighting over short-necked females of the species, although such fights are rarely deadly. In that they resemble their namesakes, but African mammal giraffes also use their long necks to reach food at the tops of trees. The giraffe weevils live in the trees they eat, a species called the giraffe beetle tree for some reason.
Giraffe weevils have a cousin native to New Zealand, but only the Madagascar species has a bright red carapace covering their wings. The insects are sold as souvenirs in Madagascar, and are sometimes used in art. See more of these long-necked bugs at Ark in Space.
(Image credit: Axel Strauß)
