DIALOGUE XXIX. 
SPHEX, OR ICHNEUMON WASP. 
MOTHER, The insect, which I 
have chosen for the subject of to-day's 
conversation^ is called sphex ; it is also 
called the ichneumon wasp, because it 
bears a strong resemblance to both those 
insects. 
Lucy. Is it as fierce as the cruel 
ichneumon ? 
Mother, It is so fierce as to have 
obtained the name of savage. Both the 
larva and the fly feed upon other insects ; 
the larva upon dead caterpillars ; the fly 
upon large spiders, fifty of which scarcely 
suffice it for one meal, as it eats only the 
contents of the head, and a very small 
part of the body. The remains of these 
