10 HISTORY OF INSECTS. 



case of the great ichneumon before described, it is supposed 

 the small ichneumon's egg is laid in the egg of the fly, while 

 the latter is adhering to the skin of the caterpillar. The 

 egg of the fly, which is placed on the neck of the cater- 

 pillar, the only part from which the caterpillar could not 

 remove it, is very conspicuous to an observer : in this situ- 

 ation we cannot be surprised, then, that the ichneumon 

 should discover it ; nor does it appear an improbable sup- 

 position that the little creature seizes this opportunity of 

 piercing the shell with her oviduct, and depositing her eggs 

 amidst its contents. The maggot of the fly, as soon as it is 

 hatched, pierces the skin of the caterpillar, and commences 

 devouring, carrying within it a horde of insidious parasites, 

 which, though they interfere not with the due performance 

 of its appointed work of destruction, yet, in the end, so 

 weaken it that it never arrives at perfection. Very ingeni- 

 ous experiments and calculations have proved, that four 

 out of every five eggs that are laid, are prevented from ar- 

 riving at maturity by parasites attacking them in one or 

 other of their stages ; a fact which proves the immense 

 importance of this seemingly insignificant tribe of animals. 

 History of the Earwig. The earwig is one of our most 

 common insects ; it is well known to every one, and is very 

 generally an object of unconquerable dislike; the forceps 

 at its tail, and the threatening manner in which these are 

 turned over its back, to pinch anything of which it is afraid, 

 render it peculiarly disgusting. The fore wings of the ear- 

 wig are square, short, leathery pieces, which cover but a 

 very small portion of the body : the insect is incapable of 

 bending or folding them in any direction, or of using them 

 as organs of flight. The hind wings are quite different from 

 the fore wings : they are folded into a very small compass, 

 and covered by the fore wings, except a small portion which 

 protrudes from beneath them ; and, when examined in this 



