The Geotrupes: the Larva 



sumed throughout, all but a slender wall, 

 which the Inmate, however, takes care to 

 thicken and strengthen with a good layer of 

 its mortar. The grub of the Geotrupes is 

 very differently situated. It is supplied with 

 a colossal sausage, representing nearly a 

 dozen times as much as the other provisions. 

 However well-endowed it be with stomach 

 and appetite, it could not possibly consume 

 the whole lot. Besides, the question of food 

 is not the only one to be considered this time : 

 there is also the serious matter of the hiber- 

 nation. The parents foresaw the severity 

 of the winter and bequeathed their sons the 

 wherewithal to face it. The giant roly-poly 

 will become a blanket against the cold. 



The grub, as a matter of fact, gnaws bit 

 by bit the part above and scoops out a 

 corridor just wide enough to pass through. 

 In this way, a very thick wall is left intact, 

 the central part alone being consumed. As 

 the sheath is bored, the sides are at the same 

 time cemented and lined with evacuations of 

 the intestine. Any excess product accumu- 

 lates and forms a rampart behind. 



So long as the weather remains favourable, 

 the grub moves about in its gallery; it takes 

 its stand above or below and attacks the pro- 

 visions with a tooth that grows daily more 

 321 



