The Clonus 



cation through the little skylight. A grub's 

 home is its castle. 



The Gymnetron is so happy in her cell that 

 she stays there a long time after assuming 

 her adult form. For ten months out of the 

 twelve she does not leave it. In April, when 

 the buds of the new twigs are swelling, she 

 pierces the natal capsule, now a mighty don- 

 jon; she comes out and revels in the sun on 

 the recent flower-spikes, which grow daily 

 longer and thicker; she frisks in couples and, 

 in May, establishes her family, which will 

 obstinately repeat the sedentary habits of 

 the elders. 



With these data before us, let us philoso- 

 phize awhile. Every Weevil spends its lar- 

 val life on the spot where the egg was laid. 

 Various larvae, it is true, when the time of 

 metamorphosis approaches, migrate and 

 make their way underground. The Brachy- 

 cerus abandons its clove of garlic, the Bal- 

 aninus its nut or acorn, the Rhynchites its 

 vine-leaf or poplar-leaf cigar; the Ceutho- 

 rhynchus its cabbage stalk. But these in- 

 stances of desertion on the part of grubs 

 which have attained their full growth do not 

 in any way invalidate the rule: all Weevil- 



337 



