Botany Bay Diamond Weevil — Joseph Banks and Sydney's Coastal Bush

A Curious Insect with an Unusual History

The Botany Bay Diamond Weevil is not easy to miss when you do come across one. A chequered pattern of aqua and black on a beetle up to 2.5 centimetres long — striking enough to stop you mid-walk.

It is a weevil, which means it belongs to the beetle family and carries the characteristic elongated snout. The snout is functional rather than decorative: weevils use it to bore into plant material for food and to create chambers for their eggs.

The Botany Bay Diamond Weevil has an unusual distinction. It was among the first insects formally identified in the Sydney region, documented by Joseph Banks during the Endeavour's visit to Botany Bay in 1770. Banks collected and catalogued specimens from the area that would later become Australia's first European settlement. The weevil carries that history in its name.

It lives in coastal heath and eucalyptus woodland — the kind of country that lines the clifftop tracks of the Royal National Park. An occasional and memorable sighting on a day that already has plenty to recommend it.

It’s all about the snout

Love this place - good seating, plenty to eat