250 
PARASITES OF GIPSY AND BROWN-TAIL MOTHS. 
it betrays a distinct partiality for anything that savors of the brown- 
tail moth. It is thereby led to seek out the molting webs of the 
brown-tail caterpillars in the spring and consequently comes into 
contact with the Apanteles cocoons. 
THE SARCOPHAGIDS. 
There has been considerable controversy in the past concerning 
the habits of the Sarcophagidae, and a wide difference of opinion as 
to whether they were to be considered as truly parasitic, or whether 
they were merely scavengers, attacking and feeding upon insects 
which had died through some other cause. In the 
case of those species which are reared from grass- 
hoppers there seems to be no further question that 
they are to be classed as true parasites or at least 
that they are as truly parasitic as many of the more 
degraded among the hymenopterous parasites. This 
seems not to have been proved of any of the species 
which are found within the pupae of the larger 
Lepidoptera. 
If judgment were to be based upon the occurrence 
of sarcophagids in the shipments of gipsy-moth 
fig. 56. — Gipsy -moth pupae from abroad, it would certainly be judged that 
hoie a 'ieft 10 by ng 3fono- the sarcophagids were parasitic. Their puparia 
dontomerus xreus. (p}. XX, fig. 3), have frequently outnumbered the 
Enlarged. (Ongmai.) ^ acnm j ( | p U p ar i a? anc [ even the tachinid puparia and 
hymenopterous parasites together. Unfortunately, there is nothing 
known of the circumstances under which this material was collected 
in any instance, and for all that is known to the contrary, the 
sarcophagids actually entered gipsy-moth pupae which had been at- 
tacked and killed by another parasite, Chalcis for example, and by 
feeding, first upon the uncons timed contents of the pupal shell, and 
later upon the body of the true parasite, which might be destroyed 
either through accident or design on the part of the intruder, would 
become, in effect, secondary parasites. 
If judgment were to be based upon the results of a quite elaborate 
series of investigations into the relations between the native sarco- 
phagids and the gipsy moth in America, it would unavoidably be to 
the effect that these sarcophagids were scavengers and nothing more. 
We are confronted with conflicting evidence, presented by a much 
greater abundance of sarcophagids associated with the gipsy moth in 
Europe than is similarly associated with it in America, which is sug- 
gestive of two things: Either the sarcophagids arc associated with the 
gipsy moth because they sire parasitic upon it or because of the pres- 
ence of its parasites, which is quite as reasonable an explanation. It 
will require much careful work in Europe before it will be possible to 
