THE PALM WEEVIL. 173 



assertion in a measure, for the palm-tree was the locality from 

 which it had been taken. 



This larva, which is called Tuchutd — I spell the name pho- 

 netically, my informant never having seen the word in print 

 — is eaten either cooked or raw, the latter being the nsual 

 method among gourmands, who think that, like an oyster, the 

 Tuchutd ought to be eaten without any aid from the fire. The 

 correct mode of eating it is, to hold it neatly by the head, 

 between the finger and thumb, to put the whole of the body into 

 the mouth, and then to bite it off, just as a strawberry is eaten, 

 and its flavour much resembles that of marrow. The grubs are 

 procured in the following manner : — A cabbage-palm is cut 

 down, and allowed to lie for at least a fortnight ; at the expi- 

 ration of that time, the palm is split open, and in the interior 

 are found the Tuchuto grubs. 



To return to the Palm Weevil. When the great, unwieldy 

 larva has attained its full growth, it constructs a large cocoon, 

 made of the stringy-fibres which run along the stem of the palm, 

 twisted and intertwined so as to form a strong place of refuge 

 during the time of its helplessness. It is a remarkable fact, that 

 many wood-boring insects are in the habit of enclosing them- 

 selves in a strong cocoon before they change into the pupal con- 

 dition, though the locality in which they live might seem to 

 render them independent of any such protection. It is, however, 

 very possible, that the object of the cocoon may be to save the 

 inhabitant from some other wood-boring insect, which might 

 happen to drive its tunnel through the helpless pupa, and 

 that the cocoon might contain some ingredients which are dis- 

 tasteful to the intruder, and would compel it to turn aside and 

 choose another path. Were it not for some such protection, 

 another insect might get into the burrow made by the weevil 

 grub, follow it up, come upon the pupa while still inert and 

 incapable of resistance, and either eat it, or at all events inflict 

 a serious injury upon it. 



There is a large group of beetles, which, in consequence of 

 their extremely long antennae, are called by the name of Longi- 

 comes. In some species the antennae attain a wonderful length, 

 as for example, in Lamia oedilis, the antennae of which are five 

 times as long as the head and body together. We have several 



