The Life of the Weevil 



cages containing my wild animals. In them 

 I rear the Haricot-weevil, varying the diet 

 as I please. They teach me among other 

 things that the insect, far from being exclu- 

 sive in the choice of its establishments, will 

 make itself at home in our different legumina, 

 with very few exceptions. 



All the haricots suit it, whether black or 

 white, red or striped, small or large, those of 

 the last crop or those many years old and 

 almost too hard to boil. The loose beans 

 are attacked by preference, as being less 

 troublesome to invade; but, when there are 

 no shelled beans available, those covered by 

 their natural sheath are just as zealously ex- 

 ploited. The new-born grubs are well able 

 to reach them through the pod, which is 

 often as stiff as parchment. This is how the 

 beans are raided in the fields. 



Another highly-appreciated bean is the 

 long-podded dolichos, known among our 

 people as lou faioii borgne, the one-eyed 

 haricot, because of the dark speck which 

 gives the umbilicus the look of a black eye. 

 I even fancy that my boarders show a 

 marked predilection for this bean. 



So far, there is nothing abnormal: the 

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