THE CAXADIAN^ HORTICULTURIST. 



29 



Ficf. 3, and a very handsome creature it is. Its body is of a pale green 

 color, and is ornamented witli large warts or tubercles; these are coral 

 red on the third and fourth rings of tlie body, while all the others are 

 yellow, excepting those on tlie second and terminal segments, and the 

 smaller tubercles along the sides, which are blue. 



During its rapid and enormous growth it consumes an immense 

 amount of vegetable food, and especially as it approaches maturity is 

 its voracious appetite apparent. Where one or two have been placed 

 on a young apple tree, they will often strip it entirely bare before they 

 have done with it, and greatly damage the tree, and sometimes endanger 

 its life by preventing the proper ripening of the wood. 



The natural ratio of increase of this insect being very great, nature 

 has provided means to curtail it. Being a somewhat conspicuous 

 object, the larva? sometimes serve as a dainty meal for some of the 

 larger insectivorous birds, but is much oftener attacked and destroyed 

 by parasites of several distinct species, all of wliich, in the larvai state, 

 live within the 1)ody of the caterpillar, and rioting on its substance 



finally occasion its death. One of 

 these is shown in Fig. 4, a fat, legless 

 grub or maggot, whicli is the progeny 

 of a handsoisje four- winged fly, of a 

 Fig. 4. yellowish l)rown color, known as the 



"long-tailed ophion fly, (OpTiion 

 Macrurum,) Fig. 5. The female fly 

 deposits her eggs on the skin of her/ 

 victim, fastening them firmly there; 

 these, when hatched, eat their way 

 through the exterior, and at once be- 

 gin to feed upon the fatty parts with- 

 in. 



A two winged fly, known as a 

 Tachina fly, very similar if not iden- 

 tical with the species known as " the 

 red-tailed Tachina fly, ExoHsta Mili- 

 tans, figure G, is often found infesting Fig. 5. 



