“Herman”
the weevil beetle
Scientific
name: Eupholus bennetti
Geographic location:
Papua, New Guinea
Artist: Jessa Huebing-Reitinger
Medium: Pastel on Wallis grit paper 22” x 30”
2003
Herman
the weevil beetle is from Papua, New Guinea. He is one of
thousands of different species of weevil beetles which can
be found all over the world. When scared, many weevils will
tuck in their legs and antennae to resemble a contorted death
pose and then drop to the ground and maintain stillness in
the leaf litter. Some of the tropical species, such as Herman,
are beautifully colored with metallic scales and look more
like gems encrusted with jewels than beetles.
Herman was the first prototype done for Project InSECT and
was painted without a specimen or microscope. Jessa used photographs
to make the vision a reality so that others could see the
idea and began building a network of supporters, especially
entomologists. Jessa chose a weevil to start, because she
fell in love with Herman’s camel face.
