532 
H Y M E N 0 P T E R A. 
in their cocoons, and it is probable that birds also prey 
upon them when on the trees, both in the slug and the 
winojed states. Professor Peck has described a minute icb- 
neumon-fly» stated by Mr. Westwood to be a species of 
Encyrtus^ that stings the eggs of the slug-fly, and deposits 
in each one a single egg of her own. From this, in due 
time, a little maggot is hatched, which lives in the shell of 
the slug-fly’s egg, devours the contents, and afterwards is 
changed to a chrysalis, and then to a fly like its parent. 
Professor Peck found that great numbers of the eggs of 
the slug-fly, especially of the second hatch, were rendered 
abortive by this atom of existence. 
Ashes or quicklime, sifted on the trees by means of a 
sieve fastened to the end of a pole, was recommended, by 
the late Hon. John Lowell, of Roxbury, for the destruc¬ 
tion of the slugs ; and it is found to answer the purpose. 
It is probable that Mr. Haggerston’s almost universal rem¬ 
edy may prove to be still more effectual. 
The saw-flies, though undoubtedly belonging to the order 
Hymenoptera, depart from the general characters thereof 
more than any other insects in it. They are more dull 
and heavy in all their motions; they have not the power¬ 
ful jaws of the predaceous tribes, nor the long and slender 
lower jaws and tongue of those that subsist upon honey. 
They live but a short time, and their food appears to be 
pollen, the tender parts of leaves, and sometimes the plant- 
lice and other soft-bodied insects frequenting flowers. In 
the stiffness of their upper wings, and the heaviness of 
their flight, they somewhat resemble beetles, and, analogi¬ 
cally, may be said to typify the Coleoptera, or, in other 
words, they may be called the beetles of the Hymenop¬ 
tera. They will be found, on comparison, to have some 
features in common with the crickets, which, with the ear¬ 
wigs, are also the representatives of the Coleoptera. Al¬ 
though they differ essentially from butterflies and moths, 
the resemblance of most of their young to caterpillars, in 
