Here we have a Broad-back Weevil (Leptopius duponti) cocoon from South Austrailia. Since the cocoon was found unopened, the hole you see in the top was created by me and not an adult weevil exiting upon maturation. Although I was hoping to find an intact weevil larva, I wasn't too disappointed when I discovered it contained an air pocket filled with oodles and oodles of COPROLITES! In a sense the weevil was there, just a digested version. Both loose and compacted coprolites were present along with what appears to be irregularly shaped, smooth rubble. Some of the compacted material is covered with small fibers.

The coprolites were most likely from an invertebrate that fed on the weevil larva. Since the coprolites vary in size, it is possible that the parasitic creature(s) that fed on our pupating beetle friend at various stages of development. There also appear to be elongated cocoons, possible from the parasites themselves. They are much more fibrous than the coprolites.

This specimen is dedicated to Troy Thompson and his wonderful No Evil Project. His project is totally unrelated to coprolites, but nothing's perfect!