372 The Rose Garden. 



parasite of this class. Their habits vary considerably. Some are so small that a single egg of a 

 moth or butterfly furnishes sufficient nourishment for one of their larvae. Some feed on the 

 interior of the caterpillar, and the eggs of others are laid on the caterpillar's skin, and the larvae 

 being hatched feed, half buried, on its juices. The female fly is furnished by nature for the 

 purposes of oviposition with a sharp lancet, and with this she pierces the skin of her 

 victim, depositing an egg in each orifice, and the wounds are often very numerous. The larvse 

 hatching are at once supplied with nourishment in the shape of the flesh of the caterpillar. 

 They are, however, possessed of such wonderful instinct that they invariably avoid the vital 

 parts, and the parent fly only deposits so many eggs as the juices of the caterpillar will serve 

 to nourish. Sometimes the Ichneumon larvse arrive at the pupa state during the lifetime of 

 the caterpillar, at others when the caterpillar has changed to a chrysalis : sometimes also the 

 Ichneumon pupa will burst the skin of the victim, at others remain and emerge as a fly ; but in 

 all cases the death of the infected caterpillar is certain. We have now before us a bunch 

 of small cocoons of a species infesting Tortrix pyrastrana, about twenty in number, all of 

 which issued from a single chrysalis of that insect. The fly has very long yellowish brown 

 antennae ; the head is black, thorax yellowish brown, and body black. It is very elegant and 

 graceful in appearance. We have also bred a great number of a larger species from the cater- 

 pillars of Antithesia ochroleucana. 



Next to the Ichneumons in importance as foes of Rose feeding insects, rank those families 

 the larvae of which devour the Aphides. The commonest, and therefore the most important, 

 are the Ladybirds. These well-known insects belong to the order of COLEOPTEBA, and family 

 Coccinellidce. In England there are six genera and more than fifty species, nearly all of which 

 in their larval state feed on various species of Aphides. The most generally common is the 

 seven-spotted Ladybird (C. septempunctata), whose larva is slate coloured. It is somewhat flat, 

 oval in form, and fleshy. The three first segments are larger than the others ; the latter are 

 tuberculed and spotted. It has the power of emitting a yellow fluid from its tubercules, which 

 faculty the perfect insect also retains. The eggs are laid amongst a colony of green fly, on 

 which the newly hatched larvae feed, quickly causing a visible decrease in their numbers. It is 

 generally to be found on the upper side of the leaf or on the stems, and retains its hold by 

 means of its posterior legs. The pupa may be found on the upper side of the Rose leaf ; it is 

 nearly round in shape, and as the time approaches for the disclosure of the perfect insect its 

 colour may be clearly seen through the white transparent shell. 



The order STEGOPTEBA furnishes us with one of the most active and powerful enemies of 

 the Aphides in the beautiful lace-winged flies constituting the family Hemerobina, several 

 species of which are natives of this country. All of them in the larvae state are aphidivorous. 

 The commonest species is Chrysopa perla, a beautiful looking fly of a bright apple-green colour, 

 having the wings considerably larger than the body, and finely reticulated. Another object of 

 great beauty is its eyes, which are of a brilliant coppery hue, bright and glistening, standing 

 out like jewels in its head. It is on the wing during the summer and early autumn, and may be 

 easily captured at dusk, its flight being but feeble. A remarkable feature in its economy is the 

 curious manner in which the female fly deposits her eggs. Each egg is placed on a peduncle or 

 hair, some ten or twelve being located together on a Rose leaf with the stalks, so to speak, 

 converging. The spots chosen are those infested with Aphides, and when hatched the young 

 larvae find themselves in the midst of a plentiful supply of food. They are very ravenous, and 

 are consequently of inestimable value where Aphides abound. Kirkby and Spence state that a 

 larva of this insect requires but half a minute to suck the largest Aphis, and they make 

 mention of a species, the individuals of which " clothe themselves, like Hercules, with the spoils 

 of their hapless victims." When full fed they spin a whitish cocoon, in which they change to 

 pupae. 



