240 NORTH AMERICAN INSECTS. 
butterfly. This mischievous wasp we have called Jchneu- 
mon asterie, and the co- 
coon from which it issues, 
which is properly that of 
the Papilio asterias, is 
represented at Fig. 67. 
How the female ichneu- 
mon knows that the cat- 
erpillar in which it de- 
posits an eggs has not 
been already pierced by 
another insect, and why 
it only deposits one egg 
in the body of each lar- 
va, is among the mysteries of nature that we can not fath- 
om, much less explain. 
The Gotp-wasp (Chrysis) belongs also to the numerous 
family of Ichneumons. It is distinguished by its splendid 
colors, having a cylindrical yellow abdomen, with a green 
“neck and head. It is a little larger than a common fly. 
If you take one in your hand, it will bend the abdomen 
downward until its extremity reaches the head, giving the 
insect the appearance of a ball or coil. Its sting is harm- 
less, and it deposits its eggs in all kinds of larve. Its 
beauty, and the impunity with which it can be handled, 
would undoubtedly make it much admired were it not for 
its fetid odor. : 
Another useful family of insects belonging to the order 
Hymenoptera are those wasps which are called by the 
Germans Raupentodter (‘ Caterpillar-killers”), because they 
kill every kind of larva, such as grubs, spiders, cockroaches, 
ete., with which they nourish their young. Of this family 
there are several genera, of which one of the mgst promi- 
nent in this country is 
The Mup-wasp (Sphexw Pennsylvanica), Fig. 68.—This 
Figure 67. 


The Asterias Ichneumon-fly: . 
