110 



Our specimen varies from this description in the follow- 

 ing particulars. The lip, (by which, as appears from the de- 

 scription in Faun. Suec.j Linnaeus meant the anterior part 

 of the front) is black, as well as the mouth. The trunk, be- 

 sides the white lines or stripes mentioned in Syst. Nat., has 

 a white tubercle under the insertion of the primary wings, a 

 white spot above the base of the intermediate pair of legs, 

 two square contiguous spots on each side of the metathorax, 

 just at the insertion of the abdomen. The first segment 

 of the latter has an interruptedly white margin, and the 

 second is distinguished by four white spots like the remain- 

 ing segments. The posterior tarsi as well as tlblce are 

 black, the latter are yellowish underneath at the base. 

 Panzer's figure seems to agree better with the description of 

 Linnaeus, whose insect was very much larger than ours. 

 Fabrlcius, in his Systema Plezatorum, has placed the Ich- 

 neumons with a sessile cylindrical abdomen and very long 

 aculeus by themselves, as a distinct genus : this may per- 

 haps be going too far ; but at any rate they form a natural 

 family in that numerous and perplexing tribe. The very 

 long aculeus or oviduct of this insect and its affinities 

 enables them to penetrate to a considerable depth into 

 holes in wood, to convey their eggs to the body of the larva 

 of some bee or other hymenopterous insect concealed in 

 them. Mr. Marsham, in his ingenious paper upon Ich^ 

 neumon manifestator, in the third volume of the Transac- 

 tions of the Linnean Society, gives a very entertaining 

 account of the proceedings of that insect to commit its 

 eggs to their appropriate larva, which we recommend our 

 readers to peruse. 



