448 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1962 



Tropical fruit flies can also be sterilized with chemicals, but 

 materials so far available are not safe enough to apply to fruit-fly 

 environments in nature. Chemosterilants should soon achieve eradi- 

 cation if enougli of the wild tropical fruit flies could be rendered 

 sterile during a sustained period. 



What will the future bring in our war on tropical fruit flies ? We 

 will still need to study insecticides and bait sprays, improve formula- 

 tions, and make further progress m the direction of safety and prob- 

 lem-free application. Insecticides mixed with baits provide at 

 present our only known means of abating fruit-fly emergencies 

 Highly coveted are completely effective nonchemical methods for 

 control or eradication. Such methods may come sooner than we 

 thmk, but no matter what we do about tropical fruit flies, the odds are 

 that they will remain a worthy challenge for many years to come. 



