The Life of the Weevil 
It is corpulent, I agree, as are the Weevils 
generally, but does not more than another 
deserve a certificate of obesity. 
Let us look a little deeper. Aapés means 
pleasant to the taste, pleasant to the eye, 
dainty, sweet. Are we there now? Not 
yet. To be sure, the Larinus is not without 
daintiness, but how many among the long- 
nosed Beetles excel him in beauty of 
costume! Our osier-beds provide nourish- 
ment for some that are flecked with flowers 
of sulphur, some that are laced with Chinese 
white, some that are powdered with 
malachite-green. They leave on our fingers 
a scaly dust that looks as though it were 
gathered from a Butterfly’s wing. Our 
vines and poplar-trees have some that surpass 
copper pyrites in metallic lustre; the 
equatorial countries furnish specimens of 
unparalleled magnificence, true gems beside 
which the marvels of our jewel-cases would 
pale. No, the modest Larinus has no right 
to be extolled as superb. The title of dandy 
must be awarded to others, in the beak- 
bearing family, rather than to him. 
If his godfather, better-informed, had 
named him after his habits, he would have 
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