The Elephant Weevil 
of the basin, to try its contents before be- 
queathing them to her son. If the food is 
considered satisfactory, the egg is laid; if 
not, the boring is abandoned without more 
ado. This explains the perforations of 
which no advantage is taken after much 
laborious work. The soft bread at the 
bottom, carefully tested, was not found to be 
in the required condition. How particular, 
how fastidious are these Weevils, where the 
first mouthful of the family is concerned! 
To place the egg in a spot where the new- 
born grub will find light, juicy, easily-digested 
food is not enough for these far-seeing 
mothers. Their care goes farther. An 
intermediate diet would be useful, to lead 
the little larva from the dainty fare of the 
first hours to the regimen of hard bread. 
This intermediate diet is in the gallery, the 
work of the mother’s beak. Here are 
crumbs, particles bitten off by the shears of 
the proboscis. Moreover, the sides of the 
tunnel, softened by mortification, are better- 
suited than the rest to the feeble mandibles 
of the novice. 
Before nibbling at the seed-lobes, the grub 
does in fact embark upon this tunnel. It 
105 
