The Life of the Weevil 



with its mandibles it very neatly gathers from 

 the stercoral orifice a tiny drop the size of 

 an ordinary pin's head. It is a muddy white 

 liquid, flowing like gum, similar in appear- 

 ance to the resinous beads that ooze from 

 the horned galls of the turpentine-tree when 

 you break them. 



The grub spreads its little drop over the 

 edges of the breach made in its dwelling; it 

 distributes it here and there, very sparingly; 

 it pushes and coaxes it into the gaps. Then, 

 attacking the adjacent florets, it picks out the 

 shreds and chips and bits of hairs. 



This does not satisfy it. It rasps the axis 

 and the central nucleus of the blossom, de- 

 taching tiny scraps and atoms. A laborious 

 task, for the mandibles are short and cut 

 badly. They tear rather than slice. 



All this is distributed over the still fresh 

 cement. This done, the grub bestirs itself 

 most strenuously, bending into a hook and 

 straightening out again; it rolls and glides 

 about its cabin to make the materials amal- 

 gamate and to smooth the wall with the pad 

 of its round rump. 



When this pressing and polishing is 

 finished, the larva once more curves into a 

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