Some weevils build lace nurseries.

Hypera larvae spin cocoons so open you can see the pupa inside. The silk comes from Malpighian tubules, organs usually used to handle waste, then is stored in the rectum.

An unlikely silk factory, with an exquisite result.

A lace nursery from an unlikely silk factory.

An open-mesh weevil cocoon with a pupa visible inside, accompanied by a schematic sequence showing silk production in Malpighian tubules, storage in the rectum and weaving into a cocoon.

Some Hypera weevils make an open-mesh nursery using silk produced by Malpighian tubules. Diagram is schematic; it does not suggest silk is made from faeces.

Hypera pandellei folwacznyi, adult and cocoon

A lace nursery from an unlikely silk factory.

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