OVIPOSITOR OF THE ICHNEUMON. :-'95 



propensity that Mr. Westwood gave to the genus the name of 

 Megalyra, or " large lyre." 



Formidable as this instrument looks, it is really quite harm- 

 less, and, though it can pierce through living timber, cannot 

 produce any injurious effect upon the human skin. Unlike the 

 sting of the bee or wasp, it is not connected with any reservoir 

 of poison, its only use being to introduce the egg into the body 

 of the hidden larva. Many of these insects will, when seized, 

 bend the abdomen and bring the end of the ovipositor against 

 the hand. The movement is, however, nothing more than a 

 menace, and the worst that the insect can do is that a slight 

 prick may be felt. Acting on a similar principle, our common 

 ringed snake will strike at an assailant as fiercely as if it were 

 armed with venomous fangs, and wear so threatening an aspect 

 that even those who know its harmless character cannot avoid a 

 momentary shock. 



The male of this species is a very curious creature. Of course 

 he does not possess the ovipositor, but the strangest thing is 

 that he hardly possesses any wings. This is quite a reversal of 

 the usual system. All who have even a slight acquaintance 

 with entomology are aware that in many insects the male 

 possesses wings while the female is wingless. 



The reason for this variation of structure is clearly shown by 

 Mr. Westwood : — " An exceedingly interesting species has been 

 communicated to me by M. Audouin, which he discovered to be 

 parasitic in the provisioned nests of Odynerus, Anthophora, and 

 Osmia. The male has most singular antennae, and minute rudi- 

 ments of wings, so that it does not quit the cell; but the female is 

 enabled, by means of her full-sized wings, to seek other cells for 

 her progeny. Mr. F. Smith pointed out to me that the nervures 

 of the wings are arranged somewhat differently in the two sexes, 

 the rudimental wings of the male possessing a petiolated cell 

 which does not exist in the fully developed wing of the female." 



Another species, Megalyra fascipcnnis, also an Australian 

 insect, is much of the same size and colour, except that there 

 are no patches of white hairs, and that the wings are pale, with 

 a broad dark bar across the middle. 



In the insects belonging to the genus Pelecinus, a very 

 singular structure will be observed. Instead of having a short 



