The Life of the Weevil 



ing like those of the food-pits, rise vertically 

 from the exposed stone. Let us note yet 

 another detail whose importance we shall 

 see presently: it is rare to find any gum in 

 them, though the other cavities usually 

 contain it. These pits, which are free from 

 obstruction, are family establishments. I 

 count two, three, four on the same sloe; 

 sometimes only one. Very often they are 

 accompanied, where the Weevil has fed, by 

 funnel-shaped surface erosions. 



The larger pits descending to the stone 

 form a sort of irregular crater, in the centre 

 of which there is always a little cone of 

 brown pulp. Not infrequently the magnify- 

 ing-glass reveals a fine perforation at the top 

 of this central cone; at other times the orifice 

 is closed, but in a careless fashion, which 

 makes one suspect a connection with the 

 depths below. 



Cut this cone down the axis. At its base 

 is a tiny hemispherical cup hollowed in the 

 thickness of the stone. Here, on a bed of 

 fine dust due to the work of erosion, lies 

 a yellow egg, oval and about a millimetre^ 

 long. Above the egg, like a protecting roof, 



1 About ^5 inch. — Translator's Note. 

 210 



