The Life of the Weevil 



Well, ventilation is effected by the shaft 

 which the grub has driven through the thick- 

 ness of the stone. However tiny the air- 

 hole, it is big enough provided it be not 

 clogged. There is no need to fear anything 

 of the sort, even with an excess of gum. 

 Above the ventilator rises the defensive cone, 

 continuing, by means of its tunnel, the 

 communication with the outer world. 



I wanted to know how anchorites more 

 vigorous than the hermit of the sloe would 

 behave in an exceedingly limited and renew- 

 able atmosphere. I must have them in the 

 period of repose which precedes the meta- 

 morphosis. The insect has then completed 

 its growth; it is no longer feeding; it is 

 almost inert. It is living as cheaply as it 

 can and may be compared with a germinating 

 seed. Its need of air is reduced to the 

 lowest possible limit. 



Indifferent as to choice, I use what I have 

 within reach and first of all the larvae of the 

 Brachycerus, the Weevil that feeds on garlic. 

 A week ago they abandoned their cloves and 

 went down into the earth, where, motionless 

 in their hollows, they are making ready for 

 the transformation. I place six of them in 

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