18 USEFUL BIRDS. 
(Carabide) already mentioned, the tiger beetles (Cicinde- 
lide), the ladybirds (Coccinellide), and many of the true 
bugs. Such insects are often miscalled parasites, but they 
do not merit this misnomer. 
The predaceous beetles are 
the wolves, lions, and tigers of 
the insect world. They hunt 
down their prey, pouncing 
upon it and killing it when 
found. Often these insects 
are so ravenous that they con- 
tent themselves with drawing 
the life blood and other juices 
from their quarry, leaving the 
5 rest to be devoured by ants 
Fig. 9.—Predaceous beetle; the lion OY Other scavengers. While 
Dees Seer nn ties the larger predaceous beetles 
attack many of the larger insects, smaller species, such as 
ladybirds, assail other minute insects, such as the aphids 
or plant lice. 
The bugs are the vampires of the insect world. Armed 
with a strong proboscis, the bug pursues its 
prey, pierces it and sucks its juices, leaving it 
drained and lifeless ; but the so-called parasitic 
insects feed in a manner entirely different. 
Certain families of the Hymenoptera and 
Diptera contain parasitic genera and species. 
These insects range in size from that of a large 
wasp down to that of a small midge. Most of Fig. 10. — Pre- 
them have the habit of depositing their eggs ae 
on, or in, the bodies of other living insects. insects. 
Each ichneumon fly is armed with a long 
kK evipositor, which operates somewhat like a 
hollow sting, by means of which it is en- 
abled to pierce the skin of the larve of 
other insects and pass its eggs through the 
Fig. 11.—Hymenop- puncture, depositing them in the body tis- 
terous parasite. A 
Imago, natural size Sues beneath the skin. These eggs soon 
aushenlanied hatch, and the young larve, emerging from 
