ENTOMOLOGICAL M1WS. 



FOND OF GRAMMAR. 



BY OTTO LUGGER. 



[March, 



Entomologists all know that insects are by no means very stupid 

 animals, and know much more than is generally supposed. They 

 learn, no doubt, by experience as well as we do, but do not, a.-, a 

 general rule, search for knowledge. 



A few days ago a young student at the Agricultural School 

 complained that his books at home were badly eaten by some 



insects, and as a specimen of the 

 damage caused by them he brought 

 a Norwegian grammar. And true 

 enough the damage done was very 

 plain, and the culprit, or rather 

 culprits, were still engaged in the 

 work, as may be seen in the illus- 

 tration. Snugly hidden in the 



o^^ grammar were the larvae and the 



imago of Trogosita mauritanica, 

 and also the pupal skin of a third 

 individual, already escaped. Hut 

 evidently the desire to inform them- 

 selves in the Norwegian grammar 

 had not been very great, or had 

 been too difficult for their taste. 

 They had not penetrated into the 

 grammatical mysteries, but were 

 satisfied to rest contented with a 

 very superficial knowledge of the 

 same. Hut they had ^one into it 

 to stay; had formed snug cellsclo-M- 

 to the edges, and had plugged the 

 entrances with trass; had, so to 

 speak, burned the ships behind 

 them. Telling the boy that he 

 ought to be ashamed of neglecting 

 his books he \\ondered that the insects should have been able to 

 inform me of thefai 1. When I also told him to n mo\ < his books 

 from the vicinity of neglected llour, teed or similar things, he 

 looked perplexi d, and said that the bui;s h.id told me more about 



jc. (&x., t latin 

 o: (erorfforingSt 

 = (Sjigfyebstegr 



