410 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



December 26, 1908. 



fiuitiiig tbniuijhout one season, so that the food supply of 

 tlio flies should be stopped. Kerosene was used as a trap 

 also in Bermuda, and considerable success was reported in 

 catching the flies in shallow trays of kerosene, exposed in 

 and about the fruit trees. In Au:»tralia and South Africa 

 the trials of kerosene in thi.«i way do not appear to have givon 

 .such good results as are reported from Bernuida. 



INSECT NOTES. 



Fruit Flies. 



Fniit Hies are sei-iou.s pests in a number of coun trie-', 

 and they have, been the subject of many scientific and 

 popular articles, and also the cause of a certain amount 

 of legislation. 



The fruit fly of South Africa is Ccratitix fujiit'tfa, that 

 of Australia is Brirn.i /i-.yoiii, while the ^Mexican fruit fly 

 or ' orange worm ' is 'J'>-i//ii-tn liuhitx. It will be seen from 

 the.se differem .scientilic nanves that .several distinct insects 

 are known by the same conuiton name on account of the 

 nature of the injury they inflict upon frnit. 



The South African. fruit fly is known in the fruit-grow- 

 ing localities of the Jlediterranean, in Madeira, ami St. Helena, 

 and is the one that has appeared at Bernuida. 



The.* insects all affect fruit in the same way ; that 

 is, the adult female deposits its eggs in tlie developing fruit, 

 where they hatch, and the maggots feed on the ti.ssues of the 

 fruit, which they conjpletely spoil. 



Jfany remedies having for their object the control or 

 extermination of the fruit flies kive been tried. One of 

 the flr.«t steps that should be taken in case 'of any attack by 

 these pests is the destruction of all fallen fruit as soon as 

 possible after it has dropped. In this way many maggots 

 iire destroyed. Sprays of ' poison sw-eets ' have also been 

 tried. These sprays are reallj' poison baits on which thy 

 adult flics feed, ami bv wliirh they are killed. 



i''ii:. 1(1. ('i:i;.\iTi IS !■ Ai'i r \T.\. 

 ", adult fly ; c, larva ; both enlarged. 

 (Ki'produced from YiitrhodL- of U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture, ISO", p. .").'i7.) 



In IJernuula, a law was enacted making it comi)ulsory 

 for owners of fruit trees to destroy all fruit which showed the 

 slightest infestation, and all fruit tiees were subjected to 

 a severe [iruuing with the obje'-t of preventing them from 



Fi(i. 17. TiiVPET.v LUDENs. Fe«iale fly (enlarged). 



(l\(!produred from Ycarlxxik of V. S. Department of 

 Agriculture, 1S97, p. .5.32.) 



The use of netting to prevent the flies from gaining 

 access to the growing fruit has been successful in extended 

 trials in South Africa. 



In certain districts of Mexico, the .system has been 

 adopted of injecting each infested orange (tor the orange is 

 the fruit priiu'ipaliy attacked) with kero.sene, by means of 

 a small syringe. 



The fmit fly is not known as a pest in the Le.sser 

 Antilles, altho\>gh several closely related species have beea 

 recorded from these islands. Planters and others, however, 

 often write to the Head Office of the Imperial Department of 

 -Vgriculture, to impiireabout the fruit fly — what it i.s, and what 

 it does. Letters are freijuently accompanied by sijecimens of 

 .-onie in.sect pest attacking a fruit crop, and enquiry is made 

 as to whether this insect is a specimen of the fruit fly. 



It may be pointed out that if it is borne in mind that the 

 fruit flies are small two-winged insects, that their larvae are 

 maggots, without a distinct head, and without feet antl legs, 

 planters and fruit growers might save themselves much need- 

 less worry and annoyance. 



The illustrations accompanying this article will serve to 

 give an idea of the api)earancc of two species of the pests in 

 question. There are certain small Hies abundant in the.se 

 islands which might be mistaken for fruit flie.s, e.vcept that it 

 will be found that they only attack over-ripe or decaying 

 fruit The.se are the Pomace flies (Droxoji/ii/fi spp. ). The 

 Pomace flies may be seen hovering about over-ripe or decaying 

 truif, and an examination of the fruit will usually disclose 

 emiiriious ninnbers of the small maggots. 



In nearly all the.se islands, too, there is to be found a hand 

 some butterfly (Didonia /ii/j/i.t) which has already been 

 mentioned in the A</riai/liii(i/ Seiiv (.see A'ol. VII, p. 2;34) 

 as a pest attacking ripe fruit in Dominica ami St. Kitt'.s- 

 Nevis. In this case, the injiu-y is due to tlie adult 

 insect, which punctures the Iruit with the proboscis. The 

 puncture is the point at which decay sets in. This form of 

 injury is not the work of the fruit fly. 



In the event of any attack of in.sects on ripe or ripening 

 fruit, the circumstance should be reported at once, with all 

 the information available, ami a good supply of specimens sent 

 to the Head Oflire of the Imperial Department of Agriculture. 



