GALL-FLIES. ICHNliU.MONlDJE. *163 



ing to this family, deposits its eggs in the seeds of the most 

 forward wild figs of the Levant. The modern Greeks, following 

 a custom handed down to them by their forefathers, fasten sever- 

 al of these fruits among the later figs ; and the insects escaping 

 from them, covered with pollen, make their way into the unfer- 

 tilised fruit, and thus contribute to its maturity (BOTANY, 673). 

 This operation is termed caprification. The larvae of some of 

 the species are parasitic upon other insects. 



756. The family of ICHNEUMONID^E may be regarded as pe- 

 culiarly characteristic of the Entomophagous section. The female 

 Ichneumon deposits her eggs, by means of her sharp-pointed 

 ovipositor, only in the bodies of other insects, chiefly the cater- 

 pillars of Lepidoptera, or the larvae of the Phytophagous section 

 of Ilymenoptera. Some of them have a very long ovipositor, 

 which is used to insert the eggs into the bodies of Caterpillars 

 that live beneath the bark, or in the crevices of wood ; whilst 

 those in which this instrument is short, place their eggs in or 

 upon the bodies of caterpillars, to which they can obtain easier 

 access. They do not confine themselves to these situations, how- 

 ever ; but employ for the same purpose the eggs or pupae, or 

 even the perfect Insects, although most of them prefer the larvae. 

 The young Ichneumons, when hatched as footless grubs, some- 

 times in considerable numbers in the body of one caterpillar, 

 devour only the fatty parts, which are not absolutely essential 

 to life ; and the animal they infest may continue to exist for 

 some time, thus affording them a continued supply of nutriment ; 

 but when the Ichneumons are ready to undergo their last meta- 

 morphosis, they either pierce the skin and escape, or else they 

 kill their victim, and perform their changes within its body. 

 The perfect Ichneumons feed solely upon the juices of flowers, 

 and fly about with considerable agility in search of their nutri- 

 ment, or of proper situations for the deposition of their eggs. 

 It is in the genus Pimpla, that the ovipositor attains its greatest 

 development, its length being in some exotic species as much as 

 three or four inches ; when not in use, it is inclosed in two 

 long channeled filaments, which unite to receive it like a sheath. 



