ccc Hilary of Tipula Tris -~ 103. 
extremely minute (v), evidently not thofe of that infe&. It is pof- 
. fible that there were in this floret eggs of the latter, which might be 
deftroyed upon opening it, or efcape my obfervation, At other times I 
. have found eggs of Tipula Tritici, and once fome larvz, in florets upon 
which I had obferved this Jcbzeumon bufy. If we reafon from analogy, 
and the general habits of the genus Ichneumon, the eggs of this infect 
ought to be depofited in fome other infe& in one of its flates; but, 
in the inftance above mentioned, it feems only to have been attentive 
to fcatter them in fuch a fituation as might lead them when hatched 
to their proper food. From the time in which it firft makes its 
. appearance, ten days before the hatching of the firft larve, I am 
inclined to adopt my original conje&ure, that the eggs are its prey ; 
and yet there feems not to be a fuflicient difproportion between thc 
fize of the one and the other for this purpofe; at leaft it mutt take 
more than one to nourith a larva of the Zcbueumon to its proper fize. 
Where we are not in poffeffion of fufficient inftances to eftablith any 
. fa& beyond doubt, it would be great prefumption to be too pofitive; 
I fhall not therefore pretend to decide in which of its ftates our fly - 
furnifhes food to the offspring of this Ichneumon, 1 think we may 
with more confidence affirm, that it is attached. to Tipula Tritici in 
one of them. The circumftance of its depofiting its eggs within the 
florets of the wheat, in the very fituation chofen by that infect for 
the fame purpofe, and ufually where either its eggs or larvæ. were 
concealed, fufficiently eftablithes this point; unlefs we may fuppofe 
it to prey upon Thrips Phy/apus. This latter infe&, however, to the 
beft of my recolleétion, I did not find in any of thofe florets which 
I examined after feeing this Ichneumon infert its aculeus into. them. | 
It is probable that its appearance is later, as there. is no mention ofi it 
“jn my memoranda of this year. 
(v) Tab. iv, fig. 5. b. 
* On 
