HYMENOPTERA. 



THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE HYMENOPTERA,— 

 The Pupivora, — 



Has the abdomen attached to the thorax by a small portion only of its transverse diameter, and often 

 by a slender peduncle, so that its mode of insertion is very distinct, and it is easily la ut over the thorax. 

 The females are armed with a borer, which serves them as an oviduct. 



The larvae are footless grubs, and are, for the most part, parasites, and carnivorous. 



I divide them into six tribes. 



The first tribe, Evaniales, Latr., has the wings veined, and the superior, at least, areolatcd ; the 

 antennae, fdiform or setaceous, 13-or 14-jointed; the mandibles toothed internally; the maxillary palpi 

 6-jointed, and the labial 4-jointed ; the abdomen implanted high on the thorax, and often beneath the 

 scutellum, with the ovipositor generally exsertcd, and composed of three threads. This tribe may be 

 formed into a single genus, 



FiEXDS. 



Evania, Latr., has the ovipositor internal, the antennae elbowed, and the abdomen very minute, compre-- 

 pedonculated, and attached at the upper and posterior extremity of the thorax, close to the scutellum. [E. appen- 

 digarter, Latr., a small species, regarded as parasitic upon the Cockroach.] 



Pelecinut, Latr., has the abdomen sometimes very much elongated, filiform, and arched, sometimes narro«< 1 

 gradually towards the base and terminated in a club ; the posterior tibiae are thickened, and the ovipositor not 

 i ted. [Singular American insects.] 



Fauna, lain., has the ovipositor long, e.xserted, and formed of three long and equal threads, and the abdomen 

 and posterior tibia: clavate, and the antennae filiform. [Two British species.] 



Aulaeus, Jur., has the abdomen compressed, the tibiae slender, and the antennae setaceous. [Several continental 

 and American insects.] 



Pa.il/ilniiiir, Hn l.isson, has the abdomen sickle-shaped. [This genus is arranged by subsequent authors 

 amongst the Ichneumone* adtciti. Latreille had noticed its great relation with Ophiun. I', buecata, the : 

 has occurred in this country.] 



The second tribe, the Ichni i monides, have the wings also veined, the superior always exhibiting 

 in the disc perfect or closed cells ; the abdomen is affixed between the two hind feet ; the antennae are 

 generally filiform or setaceous, (very rarely clavate,) vibratile, and composed of a great number of 

 joints (16 at least). In the majority the mandibles have no tooth on the inside, and are terminated 

 in a bifid tooth. The maxillary palpi are always apparent, or prominent, and have mostly only five 

 joints. The ovipositor is composed of three threads. 



This tribe embraces nearly the whole of the genus 



ICHNEl mon, Linn., — 

 Which destroy the progeny of I.epidoptcrous inserts, so injurious to the agriculturist, under the form 

 of Caterpillars, in the same manner as the Ichneumon quadruped was supposed to destroy the Croco- 

 dile, by depositing its eggs in its entrails. 



The old authors named these insects Musca tripiles, on account of the three threads of the 

 ovipositor-, and Miucet vUnraatet, because they continually vibrate their antennas, which are often 



Carved, with a white or yellow ring in the middle. They have long maxillary palpi, marl) setaceous, 

 ,"p- or 6-jointed, tin! labial being shorter, and 3- or -1-jointed. The tonguclct is general]] entire, or 

 simprj emarginate. The body has generally a narrow and elongated or linear form, with the ovipositor 

 BOmetimeS exterior and like a tail, ami sum, timt t Verj Short, and bidden in the interior of the abdo- 

 men, which is terminated in a point, whereas it is thickened and obliquely truncate in those which 



have the ovipositor exposed. Of the three pieces of which il is composed the middle piece is the only 



part which penetrates into the body, in which the cg'js are deposited ; its tip is often slit like the point 



of a pen. The females, when ready to deposit their eggs, ran or By about in order to discover the 

 larvae, pupae, or eggs of insects, ami even of Spiders, Plant Lice, &&, destined to n o ive the eggs and 



to nourish the young Ichneumons, exhibiting in these searches an admirable instinct, in order to find 

 the objects of their search in their must concealed retreats. It is [in caterpillars, ,\c, which 1. 

 beneath the bark of trees, ,,r in their crevices, that those with an elongated ovipositor place their 



e^s^ [in the manner represented in the annexed figures]; whflit those with a short ovipositor place 



