The Life of the Weevil 



into it; she .stabs and thumps and brings 

 the wall crumbling down. And now hurrah 

 for the joys of the sun! Hurrah for the 

 yellow flowers, with stamens all bristling with 

 violet hairs! 



Considering their tools, in one case of 

 exaggerated length under a too low ceiling, 

 in another short and suited to the space 

 available in the cell, are not both these insects 

 happily inspired, the first in leaving her nut 

 prematurely, while the grub's powerful 

 shears enable her to do so, the second in 

 spending three parts of the year in ^the 

 security of her shell, quitting it only at the 

 time of the wedding on the friendly plant? 

 Thus do we see the impeccable logic of the 

 instincts revealed, even in the humblest 

 creatures. 



138 



