The Sloe-Weevil 



the new-born grub has a tough job to begin 

 with: in the one it chisels the fruit-stone; in 

 the other it pierces the earthenware parti- 

 tion. And now both have reached their 

 goal: the first its kernel, the second its meat- 

 pie. Behind them they have left a round 

 port-hole which continues the tunnel made 

 by the mother. Thus communication 

 between the inside of the establishment and 

 the outer atmosphere is assured. 



The comparison cannot be carried farther, 

 so greatly does the ingenuity of the Rhyn- 

 chites, in danger of being stifled by the gum, 

 surpass that of the other Beetle, who is 

 perfectly safe in his clay pot. The Weevil 

 has to reckon with the terrible exudations 

 which threaten to submerge and stifle her 

 larva. The mother, therefore, in the first 

 place, builds up the defensive cone, the 

 ventilating-shaft, to a height which the 

 gummy flood will not reach; then, around 

 this rampart of fruit-pulp, she makes a wide 

 moat which keeps at a distance the wall 

 sweating the dangerous substance. If the 

 eruption is too violent, the viscous fluid will 

 collect in the crater without imperilling the 

 breathing-hole. 



227 



