Jeff Love, age 14, of Brownsville, Tex., for his question:

WHAT IS AN ICHNEUMON FLY?

An ichneumon fly isn't a fly at all. It is n member of the order that includes bees, wasps and ants. An ichneumon fly is a parasite, which means that it lives in or on other living organisms.

Here's the easy way to pronounce that hard looking word: ick NEW mon.

There are more than 6,000 different kinds of ichneumon fly. In the United States, the best known type is the longtail, which has a slender egg laying organ called an ovipositor that is twice as long as its body. Tail and body together make this creature 10 inches in length.

The longtail is the largest of the ichneumon flies. The smallest is only a fraction of an inch in length.

Each ichneumon has its own host, or insect upon which it feeds. Hosts include caterpillars, aawflies, beetle grubs, wasps and horntails.