244 THE SPICULIFERA. 



and the attacks of its enemies. This, however, 

 according to Mr. Lewis, is insufficient to protect it 

 from its ingenious assailant, the "long-tailed fly," 

 which inserts its ovipositor into the leafy habitation 

 of the caterpillar, and speedily drives it from its con- 

 cealment. Oviposition, Mr. Lewis tells us, is not 

 the object of this manoeuvre ; the Ichneumon pounces 

 at once upon her dislodged victim, disables him by 

 the puncture of her ovipositor, and then proceeds to 

 banquet on his carcase. In this way, according to 

 our author, the creature proceeds most unmercifully, 

 destroying many more caterpillars than she can pos- 

 sibly eat. I am not aware that this very exceptional 

 habit has been noticed by any other observer, and in 

 this respect, as in many others, there is still much to 

 be discovered in the oeconomy of this remarkable 

 tribe of Hymenoptera. There are few fields of the 

 entomological harvest which attract fewer labourers 

 than this, and yet there are perhaps none in which 

 perseverance would reap a more abundant reward. 



I have already alluded to a small group of insects, 

 which, although closely allied in structure to those 

 which we have just been considering, differ from them 

 remarkably in their mode of life, the food of most of 

 the species being derived from plants*. These in- 

 sects are generally of minute size, and very similar in 

 appearance to many of the smaller Ichneumons ; their 

 antennae are straight, and composed of not more than 

 fifteen joints ; their wings exhibit but few nervures, 



* Although the majority of these insects feed upon vegetable 

 matters, a few are found to be parasitic upon other insects (espe- 

 cially Aphides] in their larva state, thus proving their close 

 affinity to the truly Entomophagous Spiculifera, with which they 

 indeed agree in structure. 



