THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Vol. XV.] 



AUGUST, 1882. 



[No. 231. 



EXTERNAL PARASITES OF SPIDERS. 

 By Edwakd a. Fitch, F.LS. 



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PoLYSPHiNCTA xuiiEKusA, Gruv. (female). 



More than one hundred years ago De Geer gave us the life- 

 history of an Ichneumon preying externally on a spider. " Get 

 Ichneumon n'est gueres remarquable que jaar I'endroit oii il a 

 vecu sous la forme de larve ; mais il Test beaucoup par cette 

 eirconstance " (Mem. pour servir a I'histoire des Insectes, ii., 

 863 -(3; pi. 30, figs. 1-3). 



In June he found on an alder-leaf a small common spider, on 

 whose body he saw a small white larva engaged in sucking it. 

 After remarking how extraordinary it was that the mother Ichneu- 

 mon should be able to deposit its eggs on the body of the agile 

 and carnivorous victim spider, he proceeds to give the life-history 

 of the parasite, but says, " J*ai beaucoup de regret d'avoir neglige 

 de prendre le dessein de cette Araignee et de sa larva ; je ne crus 



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