The Life of the Weevil 
ing like those of the food-pits, rise vertically 
from the exposed stone. Let us note yet 
another detail whose importance we shall 
see presently: it is rare to find any gum in 
them, though the other cavities usually 
contain it. These pits, which are free from 
obstruction, are family establishments. I 
count two, three, four on the same sloe; 
sometimes only one. Very often they are 
accompanied, where the Weevil has fed, by 
funnel-shaped surface erosions. 
The larger pits descending to the stone 
form a sort of irregular crater, in the centre 
of which there is always a little cone of 
brown pulp. Not infrequently the magnify- 
ing-glass reveals a fine perforation at the top 
of this central cone; at other times the orifice 
is closed, but in a careless fashion, which 
makes one suspect a connection with the 
depths below. 
’ Cut this cone down the axis. At its base 
is a tiny hemispherical cup hollowed in the 
thickness of the stone. Here, on a bed of 
fine dust due to the work of erosion, lies 
a yellow egg, oval and about a millimetre’ 
long. Above the egg, like a protecting roof, 
1 About 45 inch—Translator’s Note. 
210 
