The Iris-Weevil 



brook where I have been observing the Iris- 

 weevil, is the Gladwyn iris, or leg-of-mutton 

 iris (/. fcetidissima, LIN.), whose leaves, 

 when bruised, give a faint scent of mutton 

 and garlic. Its seeds are a fine orange-red, 

 a specific characteristic which recurs no 

 elsewhere. 



Altogether, without counting such foreign- 

 ers as may have found their way into the 

 flower-gardens around, we see four varieties 

 of native iris at the Weevil's disposal. They 

 have the same sort of capsules, all equally 

 bulky and equally rich in seeds, whose prop- 

 erties as food cannot differ much. More- 

 over, the four plants flower at the same 

 season. And of these four, which would 

 permit her greatly to extend her race, the 

 Weevil invariably selects the yellow iris. I 

 have never found the insect established in the 

 capsules of one of the other three. 



For what reasons does she prefer nig- 

 gardly uniformity to varied abundance? 

 The tastes of the adult insect and those of 

 the larva must have something to say to the 

 choice. The adult feeds on the fleshy hull 

 of the capsules; the grub, on the other hand, 

 lives entirely on the seeds, which are not yet 

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