44 



is black with grey hairs, except a middle transverse band which 

 is naked. The wings are dull and devoid of any markings. 



The eggs of this genus appear to be attached to the hair in a 

 similar manner to those of Gastrophiliis, but usually several are 

 placed on a single hair. Some diversity of opinion appears to 

 exist as to how the larvae enter beneath the skin. Dr. Cooper 

 Curtice^ concludes that the young larvae are licked into the 

 oesophageal tract by the host, the walls of which they pierce, 

 travelling along the muscle tissue until they arrive beneath the 

 skin of the back; this they proceed to pierce, producing a cyst 

 or ''warble," and feed upon the purulent matter caused by the in- 

 flammation which is set up ; finally they leave the cyst and enter- 

 ing the soil pupate. 



Family Trypefidae. 



This family includes many very beautiful little flies, one very 

 general characteristic being the striking ornamentation of the 

 wings. They are mostly injurious, the larvae feeding in fruits, 

 or forming swellings or "galls" in the flowers or steams of vari- 

 ous plants. 



.Dacus curcurbitac, Coq. (Melon Fly). 



This serious pest is as far as at present known the only im- 

 portant member of that dangerous family, the "fruit-flies," which 

 we possess. • Since its arrival it has practically stopped the rais- 

 ing of melons, cucumbers, squashes and tomatoes in many locali- 

 ties, unless these plants are carefully screened from the attacks 

 of the fly. Besides the above-mentioned, various other fruits of 

 curcurbitaceous, solanaceous and also leguminous plants are at- 

 tacked. The female fly deposits her eggs either in the tender 

 shoots or young fruit, these soon hatch and develop rapidly, con- 

 verting the attacked areas into a putrescent condition. This pest 

 was first recorded from these islands in 1901.8 



The adult insect is rather larger than a house fly, and very 

 wasp-like in form, possessing a decided waist-like contraction 

 between the abdomen and thorax. The general coloring is a 

 pale brown, w^ith yellow patches and bands on the abdomen and 



' Insect Life, Vol. IV, pp. 304-10. 



" Koebele. Rep. Commsr. Agr. and For., Hawaii, for 1900, p. 39. 



