THE ICHNEUMON FLY. 3J7 



she tliiiiks fit to Jay them. As it is an instrument chiefly em- 

 ployed for this purpose, the male is unprovided with such a 

 sting, while the female uses it with great force and dexterity, 

 brandishing it when caught, from side to side, and very often 

 wounding those who thought they held her with the greatest 

 security. 



All the flies of this tribe are produced in the same manner, 

 find owe their birth to the destruction of some other insect, 

 within whose body they have been deposited, and upon whose 

 vitals they have preyed, till they came to maturity. There 

 is no insect whatever, which they will not attack, in order to 

 leave their fatal present in its body ; the caterpillar, the gnat, 

 and even the spider himself, so formidable to others, is often 

 made the unwilling fosterer of this destructive progeny. 



About the middle of the summer, when other insects are 

 found in great abundance, the ichneumon is seen flying busily 

 about, and seeking proper objects upon whom to deposit 

 its progeny. As there are various kinds of this fly, so they 

 seem to have various appetites Some are found to place 

 their eggs within the aurelia of some nascent insect, others 

 place them within the nest, which the wasp had curiously 

 contrived for its own young ; and as both are produced at the 

 same time, the young of the ichneumon not only devours the 

 young wasp, but the whole supply of worms which the parent 

 had carefully provided for its provision. But the greatest num- 

 ber of the ichneumon tribe are seen settling upon the back of 

 the caterpillar, and darting, at different intervals, their stings into 

 its body. At every dart they deposit an egg, while the wounded 

 animal seems scarcely sensible of the injury it sustains. In this 

 manner they leave from six to a dozen of their eggs within the 

 fatty substance of the reptile's body, and then fly otf to commit 

 further depredations. In the meantime, the caterpillar, thus 

 irreparably injured, seems to feed as voraciously as before ; does 

 nut abate of its usual activity ; and to all appearance, seems no 

 way affected by the internal enemies that are prejjaring its de- 

 struction in their darksome abode. But they soon burst from 

 their egg state, and begin to prey upon the substance of their 

 prison. As they grow larger, they require a greater supply ; 

 till at last the animal, by whose vitals they are supported, is no 

 longer able to sustain them, but dies ; its whole inside being al- 



