The Life of the Weevil 
with its mandibles it very neatly gathers from 
the stercoral orifice a tiny drop the size of 
an ordinary pin’s head. It is a muddy white 
liquid, flowing like gum, similar in appear- 
ance to the resinous beads that ooze from 
the horned galls of the turpentine-tree when 
you break them. 
The grub spreads its little drop over the 
edges of the breach made in its dwelling; it 
distributes it here and there, very sparingly; 
it pushes and coaxes it into the gaps. Then, 
attacking the adjacent florets, it picks out the 
shreds and chips and bits of hairs. 
This does not satisfy it. It rasps the axis 
and the central nucleus of the blossom, de- 
taching tiny scraps and atoms. A laborious 
task, for the mandibles are short and cut 
badly. They tear rather than slice. 
All this is distributed over the still fresh 
cement. This done, the grub bestirs itself 
most strenuously, bending into a hook and 
straightening out again; it rolls and glides 
about its cabin to make the materials amal- 
gamate and to smooth the wall with the pad 
of its round rump. 
When this pressing and polishing is 
finished, the larva once more curves into a 
40 
