426 ECONOMIC ZOOLOGY AND ENTOMOLOGY 



The Mediterranean Fruit-fly (Ceratitis capitata) . This is 

 probably the most important fruit pest in the world. At the 

 time this is being written it does not yet occur in North America, 

 but there is always danger of its being introduced from Hawaii 

 or other tropical islands where it is now doing much damage. 

 Under favorable conditions it multiplies very rapidly and as 

 it attacks many kinds of cultivated and wild fruits its 

 introduction into this country might result disastrously to 

 much of our fruit, particularly on the Pacific Coast and in the 



FIG. 199. Mediterranean fruit-fly, Ccratilis capitata. (Much enlarged.) 



South. The fly is a little smaller than the common house- 

 fly and is closely related to the two fruit-flies just described. 

 Figure 199 shows the characteristic markings of the wings. 

 The quarantine officers in all of our ports are carefully watch- 

 ing for this pest, and are destroying all fruit or vegetables that 

 may contain the living larvae. 



The Plum Curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar). While this 

 little insect causes most injury to plums it may also attack 

 peaches and cherries. The adult is a thick-set beetle a 

 little more than three-eighths of an inch long, black, but covered 

 with short, fine, brownish hairs; there are also a few patches 

 of white hairs. The back is marked with conspicuous ridges 



