362 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



NOVEMBEE 25, 1905. 



INSECT NOTES. 



Bananas and Mosquitos. 



Brief mention was niacie in the Afjricidtural 

 Neivs, Vol. IV, p. 310, of a discussion as to the possi- 

 bility of the recent outbreaks of mosquitos in England 

 being connected with the importation of bananas from 

 South and Central American ports, and it was suggested 

 that the matter might be readily settled by reference 

 to entomological experts. This appears to have been 

 done, and the following extract from a letter from 

 Professor F. V. Theobald, of Wye, reprinted in the 

 Jamaica Gleaner from the New Orleans Picayune, 

 finally disposes of the matter: — 



The neighbourhood of the dock.s down the Thames, in 

 fact, the whole Thames A' alley, is often subject to much 

 annoj-ance by mosquitos. The chief culprit is tlie European 

 Oranhamia Jorsdb'g, Meigen, several nearly related species 

 of which occur in North America, West Indies, etc. 



Jamaican and Central American specie.s would not live 

 here. Most of the banana traffic goes to Bristol. I have 

 had mosquitos sent from near there (Avonmouth). They 

 ■were Culex morsitam:, Theolwld, a species so far only known 

 in ]:]nglaud, Belgium, and Finland. 



Most of the tales of foreign invasion of mosquitos are 

 all nonsense — probably all are — at least, none have ever 

 been shown to have occurred. 



We have some twenty-three species of Culicidae in 

 Great Britain. A few are found in North America, as well 

 as Europe, but no Southern State or Central American or 

 West Indian species occur or are likely to survive if they 

 ever came over. Probalily a few may come in ships, but die 

 off. None have been recorded, however. 



I have had here, in a glass house, the yellow fever 

 mosquito {Stcgotiii/ia fasriata) from eggs .sent by Dr. Finlay, 

 but it will not live in the open. My genus Stegomyia, so 

 far, does not occur in Britain. 



Fruit Fly and its Natural Enemies. 



In a recent number of the A;/ri'cultural JVeifs (Vol. IV, 

 p. r_'4) a note appeared to the effect that the Entomologists 

 of the Cape of Good Hoi)e and Natal had been commissioned 

 by their respective Governments to visit Brazil to investigate 

 the fruit fly (Ceratiti^ capitata) and its parasites, and, if 

 possible, to import into South Africa the parasites that were 

 said to be such efficient checks on the pest in Brazil. 



This investigation was undertaken as a re.sult of the 

 reiiort of Mr. George Compere, who visited Brazil on 

 behalf of the Government of Western Australia. Mr. Com- 

 jiere's report was to the effect that the fruit fly {Ceratitis 

 cuj>it'jta) occurred in Brazil, together with .several other 

 .species of fruit flies, and that these were so well held in check 

 by parasites and a predaceous beetle that fruit growers there 

 were entirely unacquainted with the pests, and that fruits 

 were practically exempt from their attacks. 



Mr. Fuller's report was published in the Natal 

 Agricultural Joxtrnal for Afay 26, 1905, and Mr. Lounsbury's 



rejiort in the Ar/ricullural Journal of the Cape of Good Hope 

 for Sejitember and October. The.se reports show that 

 ]SIessrs. Fuller and Lounsbury found the conditions ia 

 lirazil quite different from what Mr. Conqiere found the 

 previous year. Not only does the fruit fly exist in 

 Brazil, but it is a severe pest in many parts of that 

 country, and Mr. Lounsbury decides that the investigations 

 of :Mr. Fuller and himself show that j\Ir. Compere greatly 

 overestimated the efficiency of natural enemies as a check on 

 the pest. Fruit growers are quite aware of the damage 

 caused by the maggots in fruit, and in many of the 

 markets of Brazil locally grown fruit of certain kinds is^ 

 rarely offered for sale on this account. 



i\[essrs. Fuller and Lounsbury did not succeed in rearing 

 any jiarasites from Ceratitis capitata, but obtained specimens 

 of a small, wasp-like parasite from another species of fruit 

 fly {Anastnpha fratercula). 



Arrangements have been made with persons residing in 

 South America to carry on in other seasons investigations to- 

 show whether the parasites already found will actually 

 attack Ceratitis ctqritata, and whether this pest is extensively 

 parasitized by this or other natuial enemy which will be 

 likely to prove an efficient check upon it in South Africa. 



The Staphylinid beetle, which was reported to be 

 predaceous on the fruit fly, was not found by Messrs. Fuller 

 and Lounsbury, but they were informed that it a[)peared 

 in considerable numbers after their departure. 



A note in the Agricultural A'ews (Vol. IV, p. 202) 

 states that the fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) occurs as a pest 

 in Bermuda and also in Jamaica, but is held iu check in the 

 latter place by its natural enemies, which are supposed to be 

 the same, or nearly the same, as those in Brazil. The 

 reports of ^Messrs. Fuller and Lounsbury, which show that 

 they found several species of fruit flies in Brazil, and failed 

 to find the natural enemies of Ceratitis capitata, indicate 

 that possibly the fruit flies may not be the same sjiecies ; in 

 that case the natural enemies of the Jamaica si)ecies, even if 

 introduced into Bermuda, might not prove so eflicieat 

 a check on the l>ermuda species as they are on the Jamaica 

 form. This phase of the subject is one that is worthy of 

 further con^ideratinn. 



JAMAICA HONEY. 



The following is extracted from the Journal of 

 the Jamaica Agricultural Society for October:— 



We in Jamaica often flatter ourselves that our honey i.s- 

 the be.st in the world, but if we could all attend the honey 

 sales in Mincing Lane, in London, we should have little pride 

 left in us — for much of the Jamaica honej' is so dirty, so 

 mixed with bits of dead bees, pollen, and other foreign 

 matter, that there is hardly worse than it sometimes. It is 

 with honey as it is with coffee : we produce some, compara- 

 tively very little, which .sells at the very highest price, but the 

 bulk sells at something near the lowest price. At one sale 

 we attended, a lot of Jamaica honey from a lady keeper in 

 Vere sold at the fine price of 26s. 6d. per cwt., the highest 

 price that day being 28s. for some French honey. At another 

 sale, Black Itiver honey sold at 28s. per cwt. The home 

 honej' does not go into this market, being disposed of by 

 contract direct with merchants. At the Royal Agricidtural 

 Show there was such a display of honey as made our finest 

 eftbrts at display here appear poor and mean. There was 

 clover honey as bright and clear as possible, and white as 

 snow. Heather honey is a dark honej', but it is so distinct 

 in flavour from other honey, and is so liked, that the prices- 

 obtained for it are the highest. 



