ANIMAL PARASITES 163 



Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Grayling, Marbled 

 White, and other butterflies, may frequently be 

 found with tiny, bright, scarlet parasites on their 

 bodies and wings, while many moths are equally 

 unfortunate, if not more so. 



The destructive Winter Moth, for instance, is 

 subjected to the attacks of no fewer than sixty- 

 three known species of hymenopterous parasites, 

 many of which attack it in the caterpillar stage. 

 Butterflies are also very liable to the parasitic 

 assaults of the hymenoptera, which are not always 

 content with attacking insects in their caterpillar 

 or larval stage, but often stoop to the meanness 

 of depositing their eggs in the eggs of their 

 victims. The contents of the eggs thus tampered 

 with provide sustenance for the larvae of the 

 parasites, to the disadvantage of the embryo 

 caterpillars which they were intended to produce. 



Beetles, too, like other insects, have to play 

 host to certain parasitic creatures, sometimes in 

 large numbers. The specimen seen of natural 

 size in the next picture (Fig. 107), was suffering 

 when I found it from some of these parasitic 

 visitors. When I removed and counted them, 

 they numbered forty-three in all ! This is by no 

 means a large number : some beetles I have met 

 with have supported double this quantity. The 

 actual size of these mites may be judged by the 



