THE PEA- WEEVIL 275 



entirely forgetting the bean and the vetch it established 

 the greater part of its tribe upon the pea, which from 

 century to century was more widely cultivated. To-day 

 we have to share our peas : the Bruchidae take what they 

 need, and bestow their leavings on us. 



This prosperity of the insect which is the offspring of 

 the abundance and quality of our garden products is 

 from another point of view equivalent to decadence. 

 For the weevil, as for ourselves, progress in matters of 

 food and drink is not always beneficial. The race would 

 profit better if it remained frugal. On the bean and the 

 vetch the Bruchus founded colonies in which the infant 

 mortality was low. There was room for all. On the 

 pea-vine, delicious though its fruits may be, the greater 

 part of its offspring die of starvation. The rations are 

 few, and the hungry mouths are multitudinous. 



We will linger over this problem no longer. Let us 

 observe the grub which has now become the sole 

 tenant of the pea by the death of its brothers. It has had 

 no part in their death ; chance has favoured it, that is all. 

 In the centre of the pea, a wealthy solitude, it performs 

 the duty of a grub ; the sole duty of eating. It nibbles 

 the walls enclosing it, enlarging its lodgment, which is 

 always entirely filled by its corpulent body. It is well 

 shaped, fat, and shining with health. If I disturb it, it 

 turns gently in its niche and sways its head. This is its 

 manner of complaining of my importunities. Let us 

 leave it in peace. 



It profits so greatly and so swiftly by its position that 

 by the time the dog-days have come it is already pre- 

 paring for its approaching liberation. The adult is not 

 sufficiently well equipped to open for itself a way out 



