5S6 



INSECTA. 



tlicir eggs in or tipon the bodies of naked caterpillars, or pupce, to which they can obtain easy access. 

 The larvic of the Ichneumons have no feet, and thus resemble those of the foUowuig families. Those 



wliirh reside, like intestinal Worms, inside 

 the bodies of other insects, sometimes in so- 

 ciety, devour ouly the fatty parts of the body, 

 Ijcing tlic jiortions not absolutely necessary 

 fur existence; hut \\hen rc.'dy to assume tlie 

 pupa state they pierce through the outer 

 skin, or cUe they kill tlicir victim and un- 

 dergo their own changes in its body. The 

 majority .spin a silken cocoon, in \\hich the 

 pupa is inclosed. These cocoons are some- 

 times united in a mass, sometimes naked, and 

 sometimes enveloped in a coinnifin cottony 

 mass, often seen attached to the stems of 

 laiits. Thtir uniou and arrangement forms 

 mass sometimes resembling a piece of 

 FiK. ii7.--rimr.i,-Lnianif.-s(atr,r. depositmiiits G£rg3. houev-comh. Tlicsc cocoous are sometimes 



of a uniform \vliiti>h colour, and sometimes banded; some cocoons are suspended to the leaves of trees 

 by a lung iliin thread. 



Tiiis family is cMreincly numerous in species. [Gravenhorst, in his Ichneuinonologia Earopaa, 

 descril.)es nearly lO-V) species of European IclDiem-inmes f/emiini ; and Stcpliens and others have added 

 greatly to their niimlier. Ihe Ickneiimones adudfi a.re probably as numerous; so that, supposing the 

 number of species in the world to be double that of those found only in Europe, we shall have more 

 than n.nOO b'hiicuiiionid^e ; a number which, although very extraordinary, is probably far below the 

 aeUird ainuimt.] 



umlier of joints in tlie palpi may serve as the basis for the principal divisions in tlic 

 li.'is been proved by Haliilay and Nees von Esenbeck to be inapplicable to the Icloifumo- 



The variatinn in tlie 

 faniily. [Tlii^ diaractp 

 ?;^/('.!; adsriti.] 



Tlie first comprises those species which have the maxillary palpi 5-jointed, and the labial 4-jointed ; the second 

 cubital cell is very minute, and nearly circular, or wanting;. 



A first subdivision is formed with the species which have the head not prolonired into a beak ; the labrnni not 

 deeply notched ; the maxillary palpi very ion^, and the ovipositor not covered at tlie base by a lari,^- vomeri- 

 form plate. 



Some of these have the ovipo.sitor exserted. 



Stcplianu-s, Jur. {havinn;the thorax very narrow in front, and the antcnn.'e attached to the posterior and superior 

 part of the nietatliorax, as in the £vani;e, — exotic insects), ;in(l 



Xor'ulcs, \y.\U-. ihaviirj; the nietatliorax convex and arnicl at the apex, so that the abdomen is attached in the 

 ordinary iinnnicr w iih a distinct peduncle), differ from the otlicrs by having; the head nearly globular, the mandibles 

 tcrminateil in an cnl ire iiduit or slightly emarginate. The second cubital cell is often obsolete. 



The others ha\'e [lie lir;iil I rans verse, and the mantlibles distinctly bifid at the tip. Some, as 



P'niijila, F;ili., Iiavo the abdomen cylindrical and very shortly peduncled. [Numerous British species.] Type, 

 Ieliiiriii,nni iin-.-aniaorius, Linn. Another species (P. ovivora, Bull. Ferussac), destroys the eg.ijs of Spiders. 



C'/7/j*j/«.v, Eab., lias the abdomen nearly ovab with a luni,' curved peduncle. Some of the species are apterous, 

 whence, as well as from the form of the thorax divided into two nodes, they should constitute a distinct subg-enus. 

 Tliey are always found on the ground. [They constitute the subgenus Pezomachus, Gravenhorst, who has pub- 

 lished a monof!;raph upon tUeni.] 



Others have the ovipo>itor of the females hidden, or but little extended beyond the anus. 



Oy>Aio7(, Fab., has the abdomen sickle-shaped, the amennre filiform or setaceous; the ovipositor is slightly ex- 

 serted. The second cubital cell is very small. Type, Ichneumon lufeus, Linn., [a common British species], the 

 tVnia'.e of which deposits her eggs on the body of the larva of the Bombi/.r lunula, fixing them by means iif a long 

 peilnnclc. The larva of 0. moderatory Fab., destroys that of another Ichneumon, PhnpUi airuhildUCy Fab. 



Baiichiis, Fab., has similar antenna,-, but the alidomen is gradually narrowed t-o the tip. [B. pictas, Fab., a com- 

 mon British species.] 



IJdlii:i(]ia, Gravenh., h.'^'e the apyiearance of the preceding, but thi' antennae are cla\'ate. [ A continental 



./■VV"!. Fab,, diliL-rs fraiu the following in lia\'iiig the antenna; dilated in the middle, and jiointed at the tip. 

 [L^Aotic s|iccies,] 



