THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



307 



6. Aleurothriwua porteri (Quain. and Baker). Found in Chile and Brazil. Host 

 plants listed are: orange, a solanaceous plant, Shimas depcndens Ortega, 8. mollc, 

 Jaboticaba, Lippia citriodora Runt, and Myrtus. Not indicated if a pest. 



7. Bemisia giffardi (Kotinsky). Found on citrus trees in Honolulu, Hawaii, and 

 an unknown tree in India. Probably a serious pest. 



THE MELON FLY. 



(Dacus cucurbitw Coq.) 



By Frederick Maskew. 



I have been instructed to prepare for this quarantine number of the Monthly 

 Bulletin an article on the melon fly and its work as a reducer of crop production. 

 For the purpose for which it is intended and the source from which it emanates, 

 this article must of necessity be both limited in scope and practical in tenor. The 

 horticultural quarantine officers — as a rule — have not time for calm contemplation 

 of the mysteries of biology or the intricacies of anatomical nomenclature. The 

 nature of their work demands prompt decision and action, then on to the next arrivals 

 and consignments for inspection, decision and disposition — a continuous performance 

 from sunrise to sunset. All of those who are curious about the details of the habits 

 and history of this fly are referred to the splendid monograph prepared by Messrs. 

 Henry H. P. and Harry C. Severin and William J. Hartung, and published in 

 "Annals Entomological Society of America, Vol. VII, No. 3," the fullest and most 

 exhaustive treatise of this organism of which the writer has knowledge. 



Fig. 107. — Adult melon fly (male) reared 

 from material taken at quarantine. (Photo 

 by L. A. Whitney.) 



The present habitat of the melon fly covers a wide range of latitude with its 

 corresponding meteorological conditions, from Nagasaki in the north, through the 

 tropics to Queensland in the south. Its distribution east and west, however, appears 

 t.> be much more limited at the present time than that of the Mediterranean fruit 

 fly. th.' records showing the territory of Hawaii on the east and Bombay on the west 

 as the limits to which it has extended its destructive operations in this direction. 

 This is probably due to the fact that the infested hosts of this pest (vegetables) are 

 less likely to be taken on shore and distributed by passengers than are the infested 

 hosts (fruits) of the Mediterranean fruit fly. In November, 1898, George Compere 

 first called attention to the presence and work of this pest in the vegetable gardens 

 of Honolulu, and again to its presence in India in 1903. Time has verified the 

 prophesies he ventured upon at that time in connection with this pest. Writing in 

 1914, Dr. II. I'. Severin, with an intimate first-hand knowledge of the situation, has 

 the following to relate : 



"Previous to the accidental introduction of this insect into Hawaii, melons 

 were sold at ten cents each, but today the consumer often pays from fifty cents 



