THE ELEPHANT-BEETLE Some of our machines have extraordinary-looking mechanisms, which remain inexplicable so long as they are seen in repose.

But wait until the whole is in motion; then the uncouth-looking contrivance, with its cog-wheels interacting and its connecting-rods oscillating, will reveal the ingenious combination in which all things are skilfully disposed to produce the desired effects.

It is the same with certain insects; with certain weevils, for instance, and notably with the Acorn-beetles or Balanini, which are adapted, as their name denotes, to the exploitation of acorns, nuts, and other similar fruits.
The most remarkable, in my part of France, is the Acorn Elephant (_Balaninus elephas_, Sch.).

It is well named; the very name evokes a mental picture of the insect.

It is a living caricature, this beetle with the prodigious snout.