The Life of the Weevil 



time, one above the other; often also the 

 uppermost of the pair succeeds in hatching 

 whereas the lower fades and perishes. 

 What did this latter lack, to produce a grub ? 

 A sun-bath, perhaps, the gentle incubation of 

 which the upper egg robs it. Whether 

 through the effect of the untimely screen that 

 overshadows it, or for some other reason, 

 the elder of the eggs in a group of two rarely 

 follows the normal course. It withers on 

 the pod, dead before it has come to life. 



There are exceptions to this premature 

 end. Sometimes the twin eggs develop 

 equally well; but these instances are so rare 

 that the family of the Bruchus would be 

 reduced by nearly one-half if the binary 

 system were a fixed rule. To the detriment 

 of the peas and to the Weevil's advantage 

 there is one thing that lessens this destructive 

 factor: the eggs are laid one by one and in 

 separate places. 



A recent hatching is marked by a whitish, 

 winding little ribbon, which raises and fades 

 the skin of the pod near the sloughed egg- 

 shell. It is the work of the new-born larva 

 and is a subcutaneous tunnel along which 

 the tiny creature wends its way in search 

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