As superheroes go, the tiny insect that Ellen Lake holds in her outstretched hand seems preposterous.For starters, it’s no bigger than a speck of dirt.
In magnification, with its bizarre long snout, the insect – a weevil known as R. latipes – looks almost comical, like something Dr. Seuss would have created.
Here’s what it’s up against: a barbed vine aptly named mile-a-minute. It can grow 20 feet in a summer. It engulfs landscapes, blanketing fields and shrubs, climbing trees, snuffing out plant life. Ultimately, the related and complex web of bugs, birds and other species fades as well.
Yet despite what look like long odds in the battle of weevil vs. weed, the little guy appears to be winning. read more
