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of t }e Ichneumon, as, instead of depositing their eggs in the bodies of living insects, they insert theirs iii those that are dead, that the young larvae, when hatched, may find a proper. supply. This provident care for the welfare of its young, is combined with the most savage disposition towards other creatures. The manner of living, the form of the body, and the place of harbour, varying in difl'ereut species; yet all agree in being the fiercest of flies. Nor do they fear to attack insects much larger than themselves, whether defenceless or armed. They are endowed with strength great in proportion to their size. Their jaws are hard and sharp ; and in their sting lies a poison, suddenly fatal to the creatures with which they engage. On the first seizure, the Savage gives a stroke of amazing force; after which he falls down, as if he himself had received the blow; but it is only to rest from his fatigue, and enjoy his victory. Numerous are the insects that become his victims; for no part of them serve hint for food but the eyes, the filament that supplies the place of a brain, and a small part of the contents of the body.

The Sphex jigulus having found a con
venient retreat, seizes on a spider, and having
killed it, deposits it at the bottom of her cell,
and laying her egg in its she closes up the
orifice