The Enemies of the Wheat Fly, 455 



introduced its aculeus, I could find neither egg nor larva of the 

 Ti2'>ula ; but, upon examining it very closely under three glasses, 

 I discovered, scattered over one of the valvules of the corolla, a 

 number of globular eggs extremely minute, evidently not those 

 of that insect. It is possible that there were in this floret eggs of 

 the latter, which might be destroyed upon opening it, or escape 

 my observation. At other times I have found eggs of the T'lpula 

 Tritici, and once some larvae, in florets upon which I had observed 

 this Ichneumon busy." " From the time in which it first makes 

 its appearance, ten days before the hatching of the first larvae, I 

 I am inclined to adopt my original conjecture, that the eggs are 

 its prey ; and yet there seems not to be a sufficient disproportion 

 between the size of the one and the other for this purpose ; at 

 least, it must take more than one to nourish a larva of the Ichneu- 

 mon to its proper size.'* 



" 2. Platygaster? inserens. Kirhy. Very black; 

 antennae clubbed ; abdomen lance-shaped, shin- 

 ing :"f fig. 2 ; e, the natural size. — Female^ body 

 very black ; antennae bent, as if broken, and club- 

 bed ; basal joint long, stout, rigid, and clavate 

 reverse heart-shaped, cleft at the apex viewed la- 

 2 Platygaster terally ; second joint stout, oval, 4 following glo- 

 inserens. bular and extremely minute, the remainder form- 

 infT a compact ovate conic club of 4 joints (fig. d) : head and tho- 

 rax somewhat dull in surface : abdomen sessile, lanceolate, exces- 

 sively black and glossy, very acute, furnished with a very long 

 flexile slender ovipositor, which is exserted (fig. c) ; wings trans- 

 parent, nerveless, longer than the body ; superior with a black 

 line leading from the base towards the middle terminated by a 

 black dot : legs blackish ; thighs deep black, somewhat clavate ; 

 length less than a line. 



" The third parasite detected by Mr. Kirby appeared on the same 

 day that the Flatygastei- Tqndce came forth in great numbers. 

 He states that, " on the 22nd of June, I observed another Ichneic- 

 mon not uncommon, piercing the florets of the wheat (fig. 3 and 

 4). This species did not appear to insert its aculeus between the 

 valvules of the corolla, but to pierce the glumes of the calyx, to 

 effect which purpose it is armed with a very short one subexser- 

 ted : of this I found both the sexes ; the male was distinguished 



* Trans. Linn. Soc, vol. v. p, 102. 

 \ Trans. Linn. Soc, vol. v. p. lOY. 



