The Life of the Weevil 



thinks, would not abandon the nut while 

 she was still in the larva stage, the danger 

 of the Field-mouse notwithstanding. It is a 

 delightful laboratory for the remodelling- 

 process of the metamorphosis. The shell, 

 it is true, lies on the surface of the soil, 

 unsheltered and exposed to the north-wind. 

 But what does the cold matter, provided 

 that we keep dry? The insect has little to 

 fear from the frosts. Its slumbers are all 

 the sweeter when the torpor attending the 

 renewal of its being is increased by the torpor 

 due to a low temperature. 



I am persuaded of it: if she carried a 

 less cumbersome drill, the Balaninus would 

 not change her quarters the moment the 

 kernel of her hazel-nut was consumed. My 

 conviction is based on the habits of other 

 Weevils, in particular Gymnetron thapsicola, 

 Germ., who exploits the capsules of a mull- 

 ein, Verbasciim thapsus, LiN.^ the shep- 

 herd's club, a frequent denizen of the tilled 

 fields. As cells these capsules are, though 

 less in volume, almost the equivalent of the 

 hazelnut. 



They consist of strong shells, formed of 

 two pieces closely joined, with no communi- 

 136 



