The Life of the Weevil 
feeds on the meal found along the road; it 
gathers the discoloured atoms hanging from 
the walls; and lastly, when strong enough, it 
attacks the loaf of the kernel, digs into it 
and disappears inside. The stomach is 
ready. The rest is a blissful feast. 
This tubular nursery must be of a certain 
length to satisfy the needs of infancy; and 
so the mother works her drill accordingly. 
If the thrust of the probe were intended 
solely for sampling the material at the base 
of the acorn and examining its degree of 
maturity, the operation would be much 
shorter, since it could be started near that 
base, through the cup. This advantage is 
not unrecognized: I have happened to sur- 
prise the insect working upon the scaly 
cupule. 
I see in this merely an attempt of the 
hurried mother to obtain information. If 
the acorn suits, the boring will be made over 
again, higher up, outside the cup. When 
the egg is to be laid, the rule, in fact, is to 
bore through the acorn itself, as high up as 
the length of the tool permits. 
What is the object of this long boring, 
which is not always finished in half a day? 
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