The Life of the Weevil 



the wherewithal to feed and grow. Not a 

 bite is given elsewhere; and even so the 

 attack is delivered with extreme discretion. 

 The food is rasped and nibbled on the surface 

 and not completely consumed. 



To make much out of nothing, to fill three 

 starveling bellies, sometimes four, with a 

 single crumb, would be out of the question. 

 The secret of the food-supply is not 

 contained in the small amount of solid mat- 

 ter that has disappeared. Let us look into 

 this more closely. 



I take out a few larvae which are already 

 fairly well-grown and install dwellings and 

 dwellers in glass tubes. For a long time, 

 with my pocket-lens, I watch the prisoners. 

 I cannot see that they bite into the central 

 knob, which is already damaged, nor the 

 axis, which also has been cut into. From 

 these surfaces, which have been scored since 

 I know not how long; from what appeared to 

 be their daily bread, their mandibles remove 

 not the smallest particle. At most the 

 mouth is applied for a moment to the sur- 

 face; then it is withdrawn, uneasy and dis- 

 dainful. It is evident that the ligneous fare, 

 though still quite fresh, does not suit. 

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