BOLUS

Thanks to Dr Vogler’s scanning microscope, we got to appreciate all the complexity of this beetle whose shell covered with a thin layer of black gold is immortalised here in the form of an earring. Although it’s estimated that there are about 25,000 species in the Marianas, this specimen is unique, because it belongs to the Bolus: a family related to the Globus who nobody has beaten in curling since 1267. Neither the Canadian Crocus or the Greenland Plocus or even the legendary Alaskan Brocus have managed to notch up a paltry draw. Although this variety, incidentally, has an advantage, because it develops its own sweeping broom before adulthood. Many seismic movements in the Marianas are said to be due to their quick-paced games.