Abstract
THIS fly, one of the larger Ichneumonidæ, appears in my house every year in late summer. Several members of my family have complained of being stung by it, always at night, usually after they had gone to bed in the top story, third above the basement. All doubt about the aggressor was dispelled by a young lady who, when reading in bed, felt a stab on the arm and saw the insect flagrante delicto. I am informed on high authority that, while Ophion is one of the few Ichneumonidæ which are known to sting, and while a small, narrow poison sac has been detected in a few species of that immense family, none has been recorded in Ophion luteus. But whereas the sting is followed in every instance by considerable inflammation and pain, such as would not be the effect of the mere stab of a needle, it seems almost certain that some irritant is injected into the wound, possibly for the purpose of paralysing the fly's legitimate victim, as in the case of the hunting-wasps.
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MAXWELL, H. Ophion luteus. Nature 108, 339 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/108339c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/108339c0
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