''Austroplatypus'' is a genus of
weevil
Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, ...
s native to
Australia that includes ''
Austroplatypus incompertus'', the first
beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
to be recognized as a
eusocial
Eusociality (from Greek εὖ ''eu'' "good" and social), the highest level of organization of sociality, is defined by the following characteristics: cooperative brood care (including care of offspring from other individuals), overlapping genera ...
insect. Members of the genus live in eucalypt trees and their fungal galleries can persist for decades because the host tree is not being killed.
[Science: The Australian beetle that behaves like a bee](_blank)
/ref>[Kent, D. S., and J. A. Simpson 1992. Eusociality in the beetle Austroplatypus incompertus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Naturwissenschaften 79:86-87.](_blank)
/ref>
References
Platypodinae
{{Curculionidae-stub