180 



ENTOMOLOGY. 



Figs. 227-230, taken from the work of Reaumur ; but any- 

 one can find similar examples, as we have done, on our 



own oaks and willows. By watching 

 the little worm with a lens, one can 

 realize how deftly the unconscious me- 

 chanic begins to turn over the point of 

 a leaf, holding it in place by first attach- 

 ing a single silken strand to a fixed 

 point so as to give the first turn, and 

 then gradually and with a good deal 

 of pains hauling the rolled portion 

 over, and attaching new strands until 

 finally a well-shaped roll is made in 

 which the insect can safely reside dur- 

 ing its caterpillar existence. In a single 

 season an industrious collector could 

 make a most interesting collection* of 

 tents and rolls formed by caterpillars — 

 and what a zest would it give to his 



Fig. 229.— Sorrel-leaf cut Walks ! 



by a caterpillar. Another order of rolls are those made 



by the leaf-rolling weevils, whose very long snouts have 

 short jaws at the end, to aid in the work; though, judg- 

 ing by the readiness with which they use their feet, 

 there seems to be some intelligence lodged in those 

 appendages. The singular thimble-like rolls of Attelabus 

 rltois may be found in June and July on the alder. 

 When about to lay her eggs, the female begins to eat a 

 slit near the base of the leaf, on each side of the midrib and 

 at right angles to it, so that the leaf may be folded together. 

 Before beginning to roll up the leaf she gnaws the stem 

 nearly off, so that, after the roil is made and has dried for 

 perhaps a day, it is easily detached by the wind and falls to 

 the ground. Then folding the leaf, she tightly rolls it up, 

 neatly tucking in the ends, until a compact, cylindrical, 

 solid mass of vegetation is formed. Before the leaf is en- 

 tirely rolled, she deposits a single egg, rarely two, in the 



