The Sloe-Weevil 
the new-born grub has a tough job to begin 
with: in the one it chisels the fruit-stone; in 
the other it pierces the earthenware parti- 
tion. And now both have reached their 
goal: the first its kernel, the second its meat- 
pie. Behind them they have left a round 
port-hole which continues the tunnel made 
by the mother. Thus communication 
between the inside of the establishment and 
the outer atmosphere is assured. 
The comparison cannot be carried farther, 
so greatly does the ingenuity of the Rhyn- 
chites, in danger of being stifled by the gum, 
surpass that of the other Beetle, who is 
perfectly safe in his clay pot. The Weevil 
has to reckon with the terrible exudations 
which threaten to submerge and stifle her 
larva. The mother, therefore, in the first 
place, builds up the defensive cone, the 
ventilating-shaft, to a height which the 
gummy flood will not reach; then, around 
this rampart of fruit-pulp, she makes a wide 
moat which keeps at a distance the wall 
sweating the dangerous substance. If the 
eruption is too violent, the viscous fluid will 
collect in the crater without imperilling the 
breathing-hole. 
227 
