Wild Belfast member helps discover a brand new species of weevil!

We caught up with the team at Wild Belfast who are bringing their citizen science project, Safari in the City, to Belfast this year. Safari in the City includes a series of inspiring nature events happening across the city. The team had a very exciting moment recently, with the recent discovery of a new species of weevil.

Joshua, Wild Belfast member & ecologist answered a few questions we had on this exciting discovery. Read on to find out more!

• What an exciting discovery, can you tell us a bit about the find?

This little weevil was a surprise find. It is a member of the “hidden snout” weevil subfamily due to having a groove on underside of body to hide their snouts, with only 3 known native species present across all of Ireland. They are typically associated with woodland and develop within fresh twigs, and hence may also be referred to as “twiglet weevils”.  This new species shares very similar preferences and appearances to those native species, but has distinct features that set it apart. One odd quirk of this species is it appears to have an affinity for wooden fences in woodland, and hence our name for it, “Fence-climber Twiglet Weevil”.

• Did you know at first that this was a type of beetle?

Initially I was out looking for invertebrates and insects, and doing macro photography alongside. After you delve deeper into invertebrates, you begin to question everything – is it a bit of debris, bird poo, or is it actually an animal? It’s an odd question, but there are many mimics out there. In this case, it looked like a bit of woody debris, except it was moving. On closer inspection with a photograph, you could see its legs, head, and distinct body of a beetle. But just needed to determine what species it could be!

• So the first reported sighting of the ‘Weevil’ was in April 2024, can you tell us about your sightings as part of Safari in the City? 

The paper introducing the weevil discovery was first published in April 2024, but the first records occurred before then. My first record was in September 2022 in a woodland in Co. Down. This was very early days of realising what we were working with. From here, we explored possible habitat associations, which led to possible locations to search in Belfast into early 2024 that coincided with Safari in the City that considered the importance of biological recording. Our thoughts on habitat association led us to Belvoir Forest and Colin Glen – weevils were found and recorded at both sites in predicted conditions.

• Are discoveries like this rare?

Yes – but it’s a bit more complex!

We can split it into ‘new-to-Ireland’ and ‘new-to-science’. Increasingly, we are seeing more new-to-Ireland species appearing every year or so. This means previously no records existed in Ireland until a first specimen was found and recorded. A new-to-Ireland species can be for several reasons like general range expansion due to changing conditions like climate, or accidental introduction through pathways like global trade, particularly through garden supplies. Some of these species may integrate with no noticeable ecological or economic impact, others may become problematic like the New Zealand Flatworm or Ash Sawfly.

New-to-science means the species was not previously known elsewhere in the world. We are more likely to encounter this locally if taxonomists determine a known local species is actually two or more separate species. This happened with the Belfast-present butterfly, Cryptic Wood White, being determined as its own separate species. In the case of the weevil, it was the rarer instance of being described as new-to-science without knowledge of where it came from. This status was determined after work on its DNA to reveal not closely related to anything in the known databases. We have had other recent examples of new-to-science being described outside of their possible place of origin, such as a flatworm and a jumping spider. Global trade is seemingly making this occur more frequently.    

• Any tips on where is best for spotting the Weevil and the types of spaces to keep an eye out for them? 

Anywhere there is woodland, wooden fences, and a river or stream we have found to be the best places to look. Shining a torch also helps to catch shadows as they can be quite small. We have found them in Belvoir and Colin Glen, but it’s likely they’re present at similar sites such as Cregagh Glen.

Conor, Wild Belfast added:

• Can you tell us a bit about the journey of recording the incredible habitats in Belfast and the mission Wild Belfast are on? 

Belfast has an array of incredible habitats, some are consistent with the geography of the city such the heath and peatlands of Belfast Hills, the mudflats of Belfast Lough and the veteran woodlands of the various glens that occur throughout the city. Other habitats are associated with human activity, our buildings mimic cliffs for nesting swifts and herring gulls and even our older brownfield sites host wonderful habitat types called Open Mosaic Habitat containing a mixture of habitats like dry grassland, wetland and scrub which has incredible importance for very rare and scarce species. 

A bit like Pokemon, Wild Belfast are on a mission to try and record them all! The more we learn and record about the wildlife in the city, the better we can protect it, and our mission doesn't stop there! We are also campaigning to raise awareness about the importance of urban wildlife and encourage others to join us through our training sessions and events and our artistic collaborations from living murals to beer mats, theres a wonderful diversity of things to get involved with - just like our wildlife! 

• There are lots of events as part of Safari in the City during Belfast 2024, why should someone get involved and come along to one of the events?

We all love stories - movies, books, films, songs. A good story grabs you, the world around us is full of stories of survival and death, love and war, sex and violence. It's a gripping tale full of colour, song and drama and its occurring every second of every day right under our Noses. You just need to know where to look. We want to be your portal into a world that is so gripping, colourful and diverse that even a simple walk to the bus can explode into grandiose technicolour. 

Find out more about Wild Belfast and their Safari in the City project, visit their project page - (Link opens in new window)

To stay up to date with upcoming Safari in the City events, visit our What's On page - (Link opens in new window)