The Life of the Weevil 
the magnifying-glass. The hands of a watch 
do not move more slowly. For a long 
while, the insect stands still, at the same 
point, with its claws firmly fixed: it is wait- 
ing for the leaf to take the curve and cease 
to react. Here, of course, there is no glue 
to set hard and hold the fresh surfaces stuck 
together. The stability depends purely on 
the flexion acquired. And so it is not un- 
usual for the elasticity of the leaf to over- 
come the worker’s efforts and partly to un- 
roll the more or less complete work. Stub- 
bornly, with the same impassive slowness, 
the insect begins all over again, putting the 
unsubjected piece back into its place. No, 
the Weevil is not one to allow herself to be 
upset by failure: she knows too well what 
patience and time can do. 
As a rule, the Rhynchites works back- 
wards. When her line is finished, she is 
careful not to abandon the fold which she 
has just made in order to return to the 
starting-point and begin another. The part 
last folded is not yet sufficiently subdued; 
if left to itself too soon, it might prove 
rebellious and flatten out again. The insect 
therefore continues at this extreme point, 
148 
