The Pea-Weevil: The Larva 



With the bean did those ancient pioneers 

 bring us, involuntarily, the insect which 

 disputes its possession with us today? 

 There is room for doubt; the Bruchus seems 

 to be a native. I find her at least levying 

 tribute on divers Leguminosae of the country, 

 spontaneous plants which have never tempted 

 man's appetite. She abounds in particular 

 on the great broad-leaved everlasting pea 

 (Lathyrus latifolius), with its magnificent 

 clusters of flowers and its long and handsome 

 pods. Its seeds are not large, are much 

 smaller than those of our peas; but, gnawed 

 to the very skin, as they always are by their 

 occupants, they are each sufficient to the 

 welfare of its grub. 



Note also their considerable number: I 

 have counted more than twenty to the pod, 

 a wealth unknown to the garden pea, even 

 in its most prolific state. Thus the superb 

 perennial is generally able, without much 

 loss, to feed the family entrusted to its pod. 



Where the everlasting pea is lacking, the 

 Bruchus none the less continues her habitual 

 flux of germs on another legumen, of similar 

 flavour but incapable of nourishing all the 

 grubs, as for instance on the broad-podded 

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