202 Mr. F. Smith on the Parasitism 



contrary. I affirm, from actual observation, that they do 

 not. 



It is stated that, if Mr. Stone's observation is correct, we 

 should never see any half-grown larvae ; there should be no 

 medium between a minute one and a full-grown one, except 

 during the forty-eight hours at which it is at its meal. I quite 

 agree to the cases of exception. Mr. Stone has recorded the 

 instance in Avhich he saw a " minute " one, and also one which 

 he calls " small :" the latter is in my possession ; its length is 

 3 lines, that of the wasp to which it is attached is 5^ lines. 

 Mr. Murray has seen these larva, and he states in his paper 

 that " both are well grown." 



With regard to the difference of size in perfect examples of 

 JRhqyiphorus, I find the difference to be exactly parallel to that 

 which is observable in worker wasps. I have six examples in 

 my collection; they differ in size as follows: — 9, 10, 11, 11^ 

 millimetres. Worker wasps vary in size from 5^ lines to 

 7 lines. 



It is stated that the only cases of alleged attacks upon wasp- 

 larvse are those recorded by Mr. Stone : this is not strictly 

 correct, since I have, in my former paper, quoted from the 

 Rev. E. Bigg's paper on wasps the statement that Mr. Deni- 

 son, in several instances, observed them in all stages of their 

 growth. The Rhijnplwrus is called a fly : this, Mr. Curtis 

 observes, is, no doubt, the UMpipliorus which '' deposits its 

 ^^^ upon the grub of the wasp at the moment it assumes the 

 pupa ; as soon as the ^^^^ is hatched, it devours the grub of 

 the wasp entirely, and itself assumes the pupa and imago form 

 in the cells of the wasp." 



Admitting that many particulars are here wanting, and 

 which, no doubt, some intelligent entomologist will furnish 

 very shortly, as several are fully bent upon the investigation, 

 still every candid person will allow that the statement bears 

 strongly in favour of the accuracy of Mr. Stone's observations. 



When Mr. Stone opened the closed cell in which he found 

 a wasp-larva attacked by a minute PJiipipJiorus-liLXYSi, Mr. 

 Murray thinks he should have found a wasp-pupa ; why, is 

 not stated ; but it is assumed, no doubt, that immediately the 

 wasp-grub has spun the silken cap over the mouth of tlie cell, 

 it momentarily assumes the pupa state. If Mr. Murray has 

 not, I have, and so have hundreds of persons besides, extracted 

 wasp-grubs from closed cells for baits when angling. 



It is assumed that possibly Mr. Stone picked a minute larva 

 of Rldpipliorus out of a cell and dropped it upon the wasp- 

 larva. "If it fell upon a larva," Mr. Murray observes, " of 

 course there is nothing to be surprised at in its eating it, as 



