ichneumon
n . 姬蜂
姬蜂
ichneumon n 1 :
northern African mongoose ;
in ancient times thought to devour crocodile eggs [
synonym : {
ichneumon }, {
Herpestes ichneumon }]
Ichneumon \
Ich *
neu "
mon \,
n . [
L .,
fr .
Gr . ?,
lit .,
the tracker ;
so called because it hunts out the eggs of the crocodile ,
fr .
?
to track or hunt after ,
fr . '
i `
chnos track ,
footstep .]
1 . (
Zool .)
Any carnivorous mammal of the genus {
Herpestes },
and family {
Viverrid [
ae ]}.
Numerous species are found in Asia and Africa .
The Egyptian species ({
Herpestes ichneumon }),
which ranges to Spain and Palestine ,
is noted for destroying the eggs and young of the crocodile as well as various snakes and lizards ,
and hence was considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians .
The common species of India ({
Herpestes griseus }),
known as the {
mongoose },
has similar habits and is often domesticated .
It is noted for killing the cobra .
[
1913 Webster ]
2 . (
Zool .)
Any hymenopterous insect of the family {
Ichneumonid [
ae ]},
of which several thousand species are known ,
belonging to numerous genera .
[
1913 Webster ]
Note :
The female deposits her eggs upon ,
or in ,
the bodies of other insects ,
such as caterpillars ,
plant lice ,
etc .
The larva lives upon the internal tissues of the insect in which it is parasitic ,
and finally kills it .
Hence ,
many of the species are beneficial to agriculture by destroying noxious insects .
[
1913 Webster ]
{
Ichneumon fly }.
See {
Ichneumon },
2 .
[
1913 Webster ]
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