AFFECTION OF INSECTS FOR THEIR YOUNG. 343 



vres. The size of the different species varies in propor- 

 tion to that of the bodies which are to be their food; some 

 being so inconceivably small, that the egg of a butterfly 

 not bigger than a pin's head is of sufficient magnitude to 

 nourish two of them to maturity a ; others so large, that 

 the body of a full-grown caterpillar is not more than 

 enough for one. They are the larvae of these Ichneu- 

 mons which make such havoc of our pygmy tribes : the 

 perfect insect is a four-winged fly, which takes no other 

 food than a little honey ; and the great object of the fe- 

 male is to discover a proper nidus for her eggs. In 

 search of this she is in constant motion. Is the cater- 

 pillar of a butterfly or moth the appropriate food for her 

 young ? You see her alight upon the plants where they 

 are most usually to be met with, run quickly over them, 

 carefully examining every leaf, and, having found the 

 unfortunate object of her search, insert her sting into its 

 flesh and there deposit an egg. In vain her victim, as 

 if conscious of its fate, writhes its body, spits out an acid 

 fluid, menaces with its tentacula, or brings into action 

 the other organs of defence with which it is provided. 

 The active Ichneumon braves every danger, and does 

 not desist until her courage and address have ensured 

 subsistence for one of her future progeny. Perhaps, how- 

 ever, she discovers, by a sense the existence of which 

 we perceive, though we have no conception of its nature, 

 that she has been forestalled by some precursor of her 

 own tribe, that has already buried an egg in the cater- 

 pillar she is examining. In this case she leaves it, aware 

 that it would not suffice for the support of two, and pro- 

 ceeds in search of some other yet unc-cciipied. The pro- 

 a Bonnet, ii. 344. 



