128 LA^YING THE EGGS. 



priate food for her young ; you see her alight 

 upon the plants where they are most usually to 

 be met with, run quickly over them, carefully 

 examining every leaf, and, having found the 

 unfortunate object of her search, insert her 

 sting into its flesh, and there deposit an egg. 

 In vain her victim, as if conscious of its fate, 

 writhes its body, spits out an acid fluid, me- 

 naces with its tentacula, or brings into action 

 the other organs of defence with which it is 

 provided : the active ichneumon braves every 

 danger, and does not desist till her courage and 

 address have insured subsistence for one of her 

 future progeny. Perhaps, however, she dis- 

 covers, by a sense, the existence of which we 

 perceive, though we have no conception of its 

 nature, that she has been forestalled by some 

 precursor of her own tribe that has already 

 buried an egg in the caterpillar she is examin- 

 ing. In this case she leaves it, aware that it 

 would not suffice for the support of two, and 

 proceeds in search of some other yet unoccu- 

 pied.'* Such are the singular habits of these 

 creatures, thus aptly described. All these 

 processes are, as might be expected, varied 

 according to the number of eggs that may be 

 placed with a hope of safe existence in any one 



