The Natural History of Selborne 435 



also very troublesome at such seasons. Country people call this 

 insect the nose-fly. WHITE. 



Is not this insect the Oestrus nasalis of Linnasus, so well described 

 by Mr. Clark in the third volume of the " Linnaean Transactions," 

 under the name of Oestrus veterinus ? MARKWICK. 



ICHNEUMON-FLY. 



I SAW lately a small ichneumon-fly attack a spider much larger 

 than itself on a grass walk. When the spider made any resistance, 

 the ichneumon applied her tail to him, and stung him with great 

 vehemence, so that he soon became dead and motionless. The 

 ichneumon then running backward drew her prey very nimbly over 

 the walk into the standing grass. This spider would be deposited 

 in some hole where the ichneumon would lay some eggs ; and as soon 

 as the eggs were hatched, the carcase would afford ready food for 

 the maggots. 



Perhaps some eggs might be injected into the body of the spider, 

 in the act of stinging. Some ichneumon deposit their eggs in the 

 aurelia of moths and butterflies. WHITE. 



In my "Naturalist's Calendar" for 1795, J u ty 2Ist > I find tne 

 following note : 



It is not uncommon for some of the species of ichneumon-flies 

 to deposit their eggs in the chrysalis of a butterfly ; some time ago 

 I put two of the chrysales of a butterfly into a box, and covered it 

 with gauze, to discover what species of butterfly they would pro- 

 duce ; but instead of a butterfly, one of them produced a number 

 of small ichneumon-flies. 



There are many instances of the great service these little insects 

 are to mankind in reducing the number of noxious insects, by 

 depositing their eggs in the soft bodies of their larvae; but none 

 more remarkable than that of the ichneumon tipulte, which pierces 



