The Life of the Weevil 



Like her rival cigar-maker, she works 

 backwards, keeping her eyes upon the part 

 which, folded that moment and still unset, 

 may require immediate touching up. The 

 product is thus watched until it gives proof 

 of its stability. 



Like the other, she too seals the denticu* 

 lations of the final layer by pressing them 

 with her rostrum. Here there is no sticky 

 secretion oozing from the edges of the leaf, 

 but there is a downy fluff whose fibres get 

 entangled and cause adhesion. On the 

 whole, therefore, the method employed by 

 the two Rhynchites is the same. 



Nor do their domestic habits differ. 

 While the mother is patiently rolling her 

 cylinder, the father remains close at hand, 

 on the same leaf. He looks on. Next, he 

 comes running along in a hurry, takes his 

 stand in the crease and kindly lends the 

 assistance of his grappHng-irons. But he 

 again is not a very diligent helper. His 

 brief collaboration is a pretext to tease the 

 worker and achieve his ends by sheer persist- 

 ence. 



He retires satisfied. Let us watch him. 

 Before the roll is finished, we shall see him 

 162 



