The Life of the Weevil 
thinks, would not abandon the nut while 
she was still in the larva stage, the danger 
of the Field-mouse notwithstanding. It is a 
delightful laboratory for the remodelling- 
process of the metamorphosis. The shell, 
it is true, lies on the surface of the soil, 
unsheltered and exposed to the north-wind. 
But what does the cold matter, provided 
that we keep dry? The insect has little to 
fear from the frosts. Its slumbers are all 
the sweeter when the torpor attending the 
renewal of its being is increased by the torpor 
due to a low temperature. 
I am persuaded of it: if she carried a 
less cumbersome drill, the Balaninus would 
not change her quarters the moment the 
kernel of her hazel-nut was consumed. My 
conviction is based on the habits of other 
Weevils, in particular Gymnetron thapsicola, 
GERM., who exploits the capsules of a mull- 
ein, Verbascum thapsus, LIN., the shep- 
herd’s club, a frequent denizen of the tilled 
fields. As cells these capsules are, though 
less in volume, almost the equivalent of the 
hazelnut. 
They consist of strong shells, formed of 
two pieces closely joined, with no communi- 
136 
