210 NATURAL HISTORY. [cH. XII. 



The preceding (Jig. 1) is a figure of an ichneumon 

 of the first kind. The long tail consists of three 

 hairs, as in the second figure ; the two lateral enclose 

 the middle one as in a sheath ; the central fillet is 

 round throughout the greater part of its length, but 

 at the end pointed like a pen, flattened and serrated 

 as in the third figure. 



The following figure represents the short oviposi- 

 tors of those ichneumons which pierce the insect 

 only. It lies concealed in a groove under the ab- 

 domen. 



Reaumur gives the following account of the ope- 

 rations of the ichneumon (Comitator, F.) while 

 piercing the cell of that species of solitary wasp 

 which feeds its young with green caterpillars. He 

 had covered a wall with sandy mortar for the pur- 

 pose of enticing these wasps to make their nests 

 under his eye ; they did so in great numbers. 



" I saw," says he, " this ichneumon at the very 

 moment it settled on the spot under which so many 

 little animals were hidden. Its long tail, which it 

 dragged after it, appeared to form but one thread, 

 though in reality it was composed of three. It soon, 

 however, put it to use : it showed me that it was not 

 only capable of raising or depressing it, but also that 

 it could bend it in various directions, and that in dif- 

 ferent portions of its length." It bent its tail, and 

 carried it under its body, so as to protrude it consi- 

 derably beyond its own head; and it directed it to 

 the spot which its instinct pointed out as the place in 

 which the young wasp was concealed. 



" Although," continues Reaumur, " the creature 

 did not seem disturbed by my observations, still I 

 could not see whether the serrated point protruded 



