The Life of the Weevil 
from the stalk. At the hatching, the grub, 
incapable as yet of tackling the firm sub- 
stance of the seed-lobes, chews the delicate 
felt at the bottom of the cup and feeds upon 
its juices. 
But, as the fruit matures, this cake 
becomes more solid and changes in flavour 
and in the consistency of its pulp. What 
was soft hardens, what was moist dries up. 
There is a period during which the conditions 
necessary to the new-born grub’s welfare are 
fulfilled to perfection. At an earlier stage, 
things would not have reached the requisite 
degree of preparation; later, they would be 
too ripe. 
Outside, on the green rind of the acorn, 
there is nothing to show the progress of this 
inner cooking. In order not to serve her 
grub with noxious food, the mother, inad- 
equately informed by the sight of the acorn, 
is therefore obliged first to taste with the 
tip of her proboscis what lies at the bottom 
of the store-room. 
The nurse, before giving baby his spoonful 
of pap, puts her lips to it to try it. The 
mother Weevil in the same way, with no 
less affection, dips her probe to the bottom 
104 
