REPORT ON ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 



93 



PART III 



Vegetal Pests 



Notes on some Vegetal Pests 



Several interesting vegetal enemies have been collected by Dr. Balfour. 



These include a new (Jutton Pest — a small Halticid beetle — known as Ni.wtni imifoDiiis 

 of Jacuby. 



A land or shield bug (Li/(jiru.-< niiUfnrig, Fab.), which does much harm to dura, is 

 also briefly reported, and a new dipterous enemy of midons, which is likely to prove a 

 serious pest. 



The Cotton Aphis of the Sudan will be described later. It proves to be the same as 

 that foun<l in Egypt, which as far as I can at present make out, is the Aphis malvce, 

 Koch, described many years ago. 



A new enemy of the dura Aphis, a lady bird, is also added to the list of those mentioned 

 in the previous report, namely, Ecochroniiix vigromacuJatux, Goeze. 



Other Aphides Inive been received, but time has not allowed their being worked out. 



At present we must acknowledge we know nothing of the Vegetal enemies of the Sudan, 

 and these can onlv be properly worked out by ii resident entomologist. My remarks are 

 purely tentative. 



The ]\Ielon Fkuit Fly 



(^J)acnx^ sp.) 



Amongst the Diptera we find }>csts of every possible description. Those that attack Dacus, sp. 

 fruit are the most difficult to cope with of all, and unfortumxtely they are easily distributed 

 from country to country. Thus we find the Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Ci'ratiti.i cajntafu of 



Wiedermann) even in Australia 

 where it is reported as doing 

 miTch harm in Western Aus- 

 tralia, etc. 



This pest has also been dis- 

 tributed to South Africa where 

 it is the source of much loss 

 to fruit growers in the Cape 

 and Natal. This fruit fiy 

 attacks a great variety of 

 fruits ; apples, peaches, nectar- 

 ines, guavas, persinnnons, etc. 



The Apple maggot ( '/'rnjif/n 

 pvmonclla, Walsh) is another 

 which occurs in America where 

 it does much harm. 



The Mediterranean Fruit 

 Fly is most dc^structive of all known species, for in Bermuda it entirely stopped the ! 

 cultivation of peaches ; in Malta it has been most harmful to oranges. For a time it did 

 so much damage in the Azores that one-third of the oranges sent to London were found to 



YH 



Fig. 54. — The Melon Fruit Fly i^Dacns, sp.) 

 : yellowish ; BY - bright yellow ; SO = slaty grey : Y = yellow ; B - brown ; 

 DB = deep brown ; PY = pale yellow. 



