The Spotted Larinus 



The proof is completed by the final result 

 of my experiments. In vain I keep the 

 thistle-heads fresh in glass tubes, plugged 

 with a stopper of wet cotton-wool: my 

 attempts at rearing are not once crowned 

 with success. As soon as the head is re- 

 moved from the plant, its inhabitants begin 

 to die of starvation, whether I intervene or 

 whether I do not. They all pine away in 

 the heart of their native globe and at last 

 perish, no matter in what receptacle test- 

 tube, flask or tin box I place my collection. 

 Later, on the other hand, when the feeding- 

 period is over, I shall find it very easy to 

 keep the grubs in good condition and to 

 follow at will their preparations for the 

 nymphosis. 



This failure tells me that the larva of the 

 Spotted Larinus does not sustain itself with 

 solid food; it prefers the clear broth of the 

 sap. It taps the cask of its azure cellar, 

 that is to say, it makes a careful gash in the 

 axis of the head as well as in the central 

 nucleus. 



From these surface wounds, which are 

 kept open by fresh strokes of the plane as 

 soon as a dry scab forms upon them, it laps 

 35 



