The Life of the Weevil 
Well, ventilation is effected by the shaft 
which the grub has driven through the thick- 
ness of the stone. However tiny the air- 
hole, it is big enough provided it be not 
clogged. There is no need to fear anything 
of the sort, even with an excess of gum. 
Above the ventilator rises the defensive cone, 
continuing, by means of its tunnel, the 
communication with the outer world. 
I wanted to know how anchorites more 
vigorous than the hermit of the sloe would 
behave in an exceedingly limited and renew- 
able atmosphere. I must have them in the 
period of repose which precedes the meta- 
morphosis. The insect has then completed 
its growth; it is no longer feeding; it is 
almost inert. It is living as cheaply as it 
can and may be compared with a germinating 
seed. Its need of air is reduced to the 
lowest possible limit. 
Indifferent as to choice, I use what I have 
within reach and first of all the larve of the 
Brachycerus, the Weevil that feeds on garlic. 
A week ago they abandoned their cloves and 
went down into the earth, where, motionless 
in their hollows, they are making ready for 
the transformation. I place six of them in 
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