Curtis Stieber, age 12, of Jackson, Miss., for his question:

WHAT IS A ICHNEUMON FLY?

An ichneumon fly is an insect whose larva lives as a parasite on another insect. The ichneumon fly larvae deposited in trees can reach and kill wood boring insects.

Ichneumon flies are not true flies because they have four membranous .rings. Flies have only tyro. The flies vary in size. Some are as small as ants while the largest grows to be an inch and a half long.

The females body ends in a pointed ovipositor, or drill, which may be 3 inches long. The three threadlike parts of this organ form tube. With it, the insect places eggs inside trees or in the bodies of caterpillars. The larvae remain where they are placed until full grown. Many kinds of insect larvae are parasites.

Ichneumon flies are important to farmers because they feed on many insects that destroy plants. They eat insects in ail stages, from eggs to adults. Ichneumon flies destroy caterpillars especially, but some attack the larvae of certain beetles, flies and wasps.

This insect looks a bit like a mosquito but it isn't related. It is actually more closely related to bees and wasps.