The Life of the Weevil 



whence oozes a little of the viscous matter 

 that smears the buds at the moment when 

 their scales separate. 



Now a word on the tools. The legs are 

 provided with two claws shaped like the 

 hook of a steel-yard. The lower side of the 

 tarsi carries a thick brush of white bristles. 

 Thus shod, the insect very nimbly climbs the 

 most slippery perpendicular walls; it can 

 stand and run like a Fly, back* downwards, 

 on the ceiling of a glass bell. This charac- 

 teristic alone is enough to suggest the 

 delicate balance which its work will demand. 



The beak, the curved and powerful 

 rostrum, without being exaggerated in size, 

 like those of the Balanini, expands at the 

 tip into a spatula ending in a pair of fine 

 shears. It makes an excellent stylet, which 

 plays the first part of all. 



The leaf, as a matter of fact, cannot be 

 rolled in its actual condition. It is a living 

 sheet which, owing to the rush of the sap 

 and the resilience of the tissues, would 

 recover its flatness while the insect was 

 endeavouring to bend it. The dwarf has not 

 the strength to master an object of this size, 

 to roll it up so long as it retains the 

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