THE BURNET ICHNEUMON. 291 



nute as is the insect when compared to the caterpillar, bearing 

 about the same relationship that a rabbit bears to an elephant, the 

 legs are so long that they can include a considerable portion of 

 the skin in their embrace, and so strong that they can retain their 

 hold in spite of the contortions with which the caterpillar tries 

 to rid itself of its persecutor. Retaining her place, therefore, the 

 ichneumon deposits a great number of eggs in the poor caterpillar, 

 and then goes to find another victim. 



I am not sure whether or not the ichneumon makes a separate 

 wound for every egg. If so, the feelings of the caterpillar are not 

 to be envied, for I have found nearly a hundred and fifty ichneu- 

 mon larvae in the body of a single caterpillar. No wonder that 

 the persecuted being endeavors to fling off the creature that is in- 

 flicting so many wounds. The numerous short and bristle-like 

 hairs with which the legs are thickly clad are doubtless useful in 

 retaining the hold of the insect. 



The long and slender many-jointed antennas are also covered 

 with a thick down, which has an iridescent effect when the light 

 plaj^s on those organs, and during the life of the insect has a most 

 beautiful effect, owing to the restless, quivering movements which 

 characterize all the antennas ichneumons, and which at once serve 

 to distinguish those insects at a glance. 



The chief beauty, however, of the insect lies in the wings. To 

 the naked eye they are simply colorless, transparent appendages, 

 with a little black spot on the outer edge of the upper pair. But 

 when placed under a magnifier, and with the light properly di- 

 rected upon them, they blaze out in iridescent glory that almost 

 fatigues the eye with its resplendence. One of these insects is 

 now under the microscope before me, a low power of only thirty- 

 six, diameters being used, so that each wing appears to be about 

 three inches in length ; and in order to give an idea of the extra- 

 ordinary coloring of these apparently transparent organs, I will de- 

 scribe as far as I can the appearance of the right-hand upper wing. 



The material of which it is made is a translucent membrane, ap- 

 pearing single with this low power, but shown by a higher power 

 to be double. The wing is traversed by numerous nervures to sup- 

 port it, as the tracery of a Gothic window supports the glass, and 

 which divide it into numerous compartments, technically called 

 cells, each of which is known by name to entomologists. The 

 whole of the membrane is covered with very minute hairs, dotted 

 at regular intervals, like the holes in perforated zinc, and as each 



