62 

 CANNIBALISTIC HABITS OF THE CRICKET. 



In the " Canadian Entomologist," vol. xxiii, p. 137, Mr. Wm. Brodie 

 cites seTeral cases of cannibalism that came under his notice. My attention 

 was first called to the cannibalistic habits of the cricket some four years ago 

 while bass fi-^hiag in the upper Delaware River. Wishing to make an early 

 start, I had taken the precaution to secure my bait the evening previous ; 

 part of the bait consisted of about fifty large crickets, which I placed in a 

 good-sized tin-box ; the next morning I was surprised to find only thirty-five 

 live crickets in the box, with the legs, heads and other parts of the missing 

 fif te en. The day selected for fishing turned out to be a rainy one, so our 

 trip was postponed ; the box of crickets was laid aside, au4the next morning 

 on examining the contents of the box I was not surprised to find about ten 

 more missing. I now determined to use the remaining crickets for an ex- 

 periment ; I kept the box in my room, and on several occasions on approaching 

 the box very carefully and peeping in, I would be rewarded for my trouble 

 by sights of cannibalism. In a week or ten days 1 removed the contents of 

 the box, which consisted of some eight or ten large, fat ci-ickets, and an 

 innumerable mass of legs, heads and other hard parts of crickets. In this 

 case it was no doubt the survival of the fittest (or fattest), the stronger 

 overcoming the weaker. — Philip Laurf.nt. — Entomological Neivs, Nov. 1891. 

 — [I also have observed the same habit in the Pertinax Pertyn. In August, 

 1891, I captured a few specimens of the above which I placed in a bottle and 

 left them for a few hours, when I returnel to remove them, one specimeo had 

 his friend's head neatly clipped off an 1 was marching triumphantly about 

 with his trophy. I tried to separate them but to no purpose. I starved it, 

 a cruel experiment no doubt, but interesting under the circumstances, and 

 it breathed its last without releasing its prey. — Henri C-.racciolo.] 



THE ICHNEUMON. 



The IcHNEUMONiDAE are readily recognized by their long 

 and slender form. The head is usually square, with long and 

 slender antennae ; the maxillary palpi are five to six jointed, 

 while the labial palpi are three to four jointed. The abdomen 

 is inserted immediately over 

 the hind pair of trochanters, 

 and usually consists of 7 visi- 

 ble segments. The fore Avings 

 have from one to three sub- 

 costal cells. The larva? are 

 soft, cylindrical and footless 

 ffrubs, and the rings are 

 smaller than m the other 

 families. The ichneumons 

 in lieu of a sting have an 

 auger, and deposit their eggs 

 into the skin of caterpillars. 



