The Life of the Weevil 



part consumed. True, when it has grown 

 stronger, the larva bites deeper and digs in 

 the fleshy receptacle a little pit that will 

 serve as the foundation of its future cell. 

 The waste products of nutrition are pushed 

 backwards, where they set in a hard lump, 

 held in position by the palisade of the hairs. 



A modest scale of diet, when all is said: 

 half a dozen unripe seeds and a few mouth- 

 fuls taken from the cake consisting of the 

 receptacle. These peaceful creatures must 

 derive singular benefit from their food to 

 acquire such plumpness so cheaply. An un- 

 disturbed and temperate diet is better than 

 an uneasy feast. 



Two or three weeks devoted to these 

 pleasures of the table and our grub has 

 become a fat baby. Then the blissful 

 consumer becomes a craftsman. The placid 

 gratification of the belly is followed by the 

 worries of the future. We have to build 

 ourselves a castle in which to effect the 

 metamorphosis. 



From all around it the grub collects hairs, 



which it chops into fragments of different 



lengths. It places them in position with the 



tip of its mandibles, butts them with its head 



64 



