The Life of the Weevil 



The carlina's foster-child cannot live on a 

 clear broth, as does the echinops'; for, if 

 the drops trickling from a wound were 

 sufficient, there would be victuals for several 

 here. The blue thistle feeds three or four 

 boarders without any loss of solid material 

 beyond that resulting from a slight gash. 

 Given such coy-toothed feeders, the heart of 

 the carline thistle would support quite as 

 many. 



It is always, on the contrary, the portion 

 of one alone. Thus we already guess that 

 the grub of the Bear Larinus does not confine 

 itself to lapping up discharges of sap and 

 that it likewise feeds upon its artichoke-heart, 

 the standing dish. 



The adult also feeds upon it. On the 

 cone covered with imbricated folioles it 

 makes spacious excavations in which the 

 sweet milk of the plant hardens into white 

 beads. But these broken victuals, these cut 

 cakes off which the Weevil has made her 

 meal, are disdained when the egg-laying 

 comes into question, in June and July. A 

 choice is then made of untouched heads, 

 not as yet developed, not yet expanded and 

 56 



