The Iris-Weevil 
brook where I have been observing the Iris- 
weevil, is the Gladwyn iris, or leg-of-mutton 
iris (1. fetidissima, LIN.), whose leaves, 
when bruised, give a faint scent of mutton 
and garlic. Its seeds are a fine orange-red, 
a specific characteristic which recurs no 
elsewhere. * 
Altogether, without counting such foreign- 
ers as may have found their way into the 
flower-gardens around, we see four varieties 
of native iris at the Weevil’s disposal. They 
have the same sort of capsules, all equally 
bulky and equally rich in seeds, whose prop- 
erties as food cannot differ much. More- 
over, the four plants flower at the same 
season. And of these four, which would 
permit her greatly to extend her race, the 
Weevil invariably selects the yellow iris. I 
have never found the insect established in the 
capsules of one of the other three. 
For what reasons does she prefer nig- 
gardly uniformity to varied abundance? 
The tastes of the adult insect and those of 
the larva must have something to say to the 
choice. The adult feeds on the fleshy hull 
of the capsules; the grub, on the other hand, 
lives entirely on the seeds, which are not yet 
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