The Life of the Weevil 



larva, without fear of being shrivelled by the 

 wind or the rays of the sun, to adhere firmly 

 to its food-plant, which loves the open air 

 and warm, sunny places. 



The laboratory producing this sticky var- 

 nish is easily discovered; we have only to 

 make the creature move along a slip of glass. 

 We see from time to time a sort of treacly 

 dew oozing from the end of the intestine 

 and lubricating the last segment. The glue 

 is therefore supplied by the digestive canal. 

 Is there a special glandular laboratory there, 

 or is it the intestine itself that prepares 

 the product? I will leave the question un- 

 answered, for nowadays I no longer have the 

 steady hand or the keen sight required for 

 delicate dissection. The fact remains that 

 the grub daubs itself with a glue of which 

 the end of the intestine is at least the store- 

 house, if it is not the actual source. 



How is the sticky emission distributed 

 over the whole body, both above and below ? 

 The larva is a legless cripple ; it moves about 

 by obtaining a hold with its behind. More- 

 over, it is well segmented. The back, in 

 particular, has a series of fairly protuberant 

 cushions; the ventral surface, on the other 

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