230 DRAGON-FLIES. 



on in turn. Other species of ichneumons act to- 

 wards them as they have acted towards the caterpil- 

 lar, in whose living body they are enclosed. And 

 these more minute Ichneumonidae are sometimes 

 so nimierous as to destroy, it is said, the tithe of 

 the kinds they attack. Should you be disposed to 

 seek for information respecting the nomenclature 

 and classification of these singular and interesting 

 tribes, I would refer you to the " Essay on the 

 Classification of Parasitic Hymenoptera," published 

 in the Entomological Magazine, by A. H. Haliday, 

 Esq., Clifden. 



Let me now introduce you to another family, 

 whose bodies are long and tapering, and who are 

 adorned with four wings of a texture surpassing in 

 beauty the finest net- work, and glowing in the sun- 

 shine with a splendid iridescence of colouring. Such 

 might have existed in the imagination of Pope, when 

 penning his description of the Sylphs attendant on 

 Belinda : — 



" Some to the sun their insect-wing' unfold, 

 Waft on the breeze, or sink in clouds of gold." 



Rape of the Loch, Canto ii. 



They differ considerably in size, and many of the 

 smallest are arrayed in the most brilliant costume, 

 being in the softest green, or in the brightest az\u"e. 

 Others assume a crimson uniform, while those among 



