(Myllocerus undecimpustulatus undatus Marshall), also named Ravenous Yellow headed or Asian Gray weevil. Resistant as mangroves may be, like getting their roots in between chunks of coquina rocks,
the leaves have no defense. And the weevils have no mercy. Even a recent growth like the one
pictured can be affected as becomes evident by many jagged leaves. I still don’t believe that
mangroves could serve as host plants. A few pages down I will produce arguments for and against...
Below: It’s kind of a curiosity to get 2 rather different creatures sharing not only an appetite for
mangrove leaves, but similar physical attributes needed to quickly climb up and down branches
of the plants. Both the small Mangrove tree crab (Aratus Pisonii), just under an inch in size, and the
barely 1/4 inch Sri Lankan weevil feature crampons that do the trick. The otherwise omnivore crab
can be considered integrated in the Mangrove ecosystem. It nibbles only moderately from the leaves,
while the weevil is insatiable, trashing one of Nature's finely tuned arrangements.
