The Geotrupes: the Larva 



We will end this digression by remarking, 

 as so many others have done, that agriculture 

 cannot reckon on the cold weather to rid 

 it of its dread enemy, the insect. Very hard 

 frosts, lasting a long time and penetrating 

 well beneath the surface of the soil, can 

 destroy various species which are not able 

 to go down low enough; but a great many 

 survive. Moreover, the grub and especially 

 the egg in many cases defy our severest 

 winters. 



The first five days of April put an end to 

 the torpor of the larvae of both Geotrupes, 

 snuggling on the bottom floor of their 

 cylinder, in a temporary cell. Activity re- 

 turns, bringing with it a last flicker of ap- 

 petite. The remains of the autumn banquet 

 are plentiful. The grub makes use of them 

 no longer for greedy feasting, but just as a 

 midnight snack between two slumbers, that 

 of winter and the deeper sleep of the 

 metamorphosis. Hence the sides of the 

 sheath are attacked spasmodically. Breaches 

 yawn, sections of wall come tumbling down 

 and soon the edifice is nothing but an un- 

 recognizable ruin. 



The lower portion of the original sausage 

 remains, however, with its walls intact for a 

 length of an Inch or two. Here, in a thick 



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