306 



FRUIT INSECTS 



of June and may be found on the trees during the next two 

 months. They are pretty Httle flies, considerably smaller than 

 a house-fly, and have their wings crossed by four blackish 

 bands (Fig. 262) . The body is black, with lateral borders of 



thorax light yellow, and 

 the caudal borders of 

 the abdominal segments 

 whitish; the head and 

 legs arc yellowish- 

 brown. These files stick 

 their dirty yellow, elon- 

 gate eggs through the 

 skin of the ripening cher- 

 ries, and the maggots, 

 which doubtless hatch in 

 a few days, revel in the juicy flesh for 3 or 4 weeks, soon forming 

 a rotting cavity near the pit. Rarely does more than one maggot 

 infest the sauK^ cherry (Fig. 260). Many of th(^ maggots are 

 nearly full-grown about picking-time and go to the consumer or 

 cannery. Many emerg(^ 



Fig. 262. 

 R. 



— The cherry fruit-fly, 

 •ingulata (x 5|). 



fruits an( 

 puparia in 



from the 

 change to 

 the bottom 

 baskets, and 

 carried in this 

 new localities. 



This fruit-fly may at- 

 tack many varieties of 

 cherries, whether sweet 

 or sour, early or late. 



The Morello and Montmorency are varieties often the worst 

 infested. The insect may also work in plums and prunes. 



Quite recently it has been discovered that a second species, 

 R. fausta, is responsible for a large part of the injury formerly 



Fig. 



263. — The cherry fruit-fly, 

 R. fausta (x 5^). 



