The Life of the Weevil 



feeds on the meal found along the road; it 

 gathers the discoloured atoms hanging from 

 the walls; and lastly, when strong enough, it 

 attacks the loaf of the kernel, digs into it 

 and disappears inside. The stomach is 

 ready. The rest is a blissful feast. 



This tubular nursery must be of a certain 

 length to satisfy the needs of infancy; and 

 so the mother works her drill accordingly. 

 If the thrust of the probe were intended 

 solely for sampling the material at the base 

 of the acorn and examining its degree of 

 maturity, the operation would be much 

 shorter, since it could be started near that 

 base, through the cup. This advantage is 

 not unrecognized: I have happened to sur- 

 prise the insect working upon the scaly 

 cupule. 



I see in this merely an attempt of the 

 hurried mother to obtain information. If 

 the acorn suits, the boring will be made over 

 again, higher up, outside the cup. When 

 the egg is to be laid, the rule, in fact, is to 

 bore through the acorn itself, as high up as 

 the length of the tool permits. 



What is the object of this long boring, 

 which is not always finished in half a day? 

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