The Life of the Weevil 
of greater importance. The fantastic stylet 
prepares the way for the eggs; it is the 
oviduct’s collaborator. 
And this implement, the emblem of the 
guild, is so honourable that the father does 
not hesitate to sport it, though himself in- 
capable of digging the family cells. Like 
his consort, he too carries an awl, but a 
smaller one, as befits the modesty of his 
role. 
A second point becomes clear. In order 
to insert the egg at convenient points, it is 
the rule for the insect to possess an im- 
plement with two functions, an implement 
which at the same time opens the passage 
and guides the eggs along it. ‘This is the 
case with the Cicada,’ the Grasshopper,” the 
Saw-fly, the Leucospis* and the Ichneumon- 
fly,* all of whom carry a sabre, a saw or a 
probe at the tip of the abdomen. 
The Weevil divides the work and appor- 
1Cf. The Life of the Grasshopper, by J. Henri Fabre, 
translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos: chapters i. 
to v.—Translator’s Note. 
2Cf. idem: chapter xiv. and passim.—Translator’s Note. 
3Cf. The Life of the Fly: chapter iii—Translator’s Note. 
4Cf. The Life of the Caterpillar, by J. Henri Fabre, 
translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos: chapter xiv, 
in which the activities of one of the Ichneumon-flies, 
Microgaster glomeratus, are described.—T ranslator’s Note, 
30 
