The acorn weevil is fuzzy, tenacious and hungry.

But what stands out the most is  its supersized, skillful snout.

It’s called a rostrum.

And it’s perfect for digging into the acorns brimming from these California oak trees.

See the acorn weevil right there?

It blends right in.

She uses her sensitive   antennae to sniff and taste  her way to the perfect acorn.

She goes for the soft green ones.

This  one is too hard.

This one’s too bitter!

This one’s just right.

Her antennae don’t stick out right from her head;   they would never reach the acorn.

Instead they’re down here.

Her razor-sharp mouth sits at the very tip.

She makes tiny cuts in the acorn’s surface   to break through the hardest part of the nut.

Once it’s weakened, she punches through.

The rostrum’s downward curve lets her bite into  the acorn directly beneath her.

She often digs   in under the cap.

Maybe it’s easier to  grab on there, or softer underneath it.

Then, she bores in.

Rotating her head and using  her snout as a drill.

She chows down as she goes.

When her antennae start to get in the way,   no problem.

She just tucks half of each one  into these side channels called scrobes.

Inside, she creates an arrow-straight tunnel.

The  naturally arched rostrum straightens as it drills.

It can do this because the rostrum has  two layers: a hard and thin outer cover,   called the exocuticle, and a flexible  and thick inside, the endocuticle.

You might be wondering: Where are all the males?

They’re here too.

You’ll   know them by their short rostrum.

But that’s OK. They’re only tunneling into acorns  for food.

A female sports a rostrum   as long as her body.

Because she isn’t  just eating.

She’s building a nursery.

The deeper she digs, the safer her babies will  be.

After she's done carving, she turns around   and extends an egg-laying organ, her ovipositor.

But it doesn’t just drop eggs.

Its tip can smell   and taste to make sure the environment  will be suitable for her growing babies.

Once she's convinced, she deposits her eggs one by one.

But she still has more eggs to lay.

And she can’t put them all in one basket.

She lays her eggs all over the oak to  increase the chance they'll survive,   drilling into dozens of acorns.

But that’s exhausting.

So sometimes,   she tries to nab another weevil's  tunnel for her own babies.

This is mom vs. mom!

Not this time!

Go find your own acorn!

Over the next few weeks, the larva  eats and grows.

Once the acorns have darkened and matured, they fall to the  ground.

Using its powerful mandibles,   the larva chews its way out of its  safe home.

That’s a tight squeeze!

Immediately, it burrows into the soil for  protection.

It will emerge in a coming season,  waking up just as the new green  acorns grow in the canopy above.

And then, the weevil will travel up the  tree in search of its own perfect acorn,   one that’s just right for its growing family.