350 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 6 



Newman ,(1910, p. 10) speaks very highly concerning the value of 

 kerosene in controlling the pest: "The method of trapping the fly 

 by the use of kerosene placed in bright, shallow, new tins, or better 

 still in white saucers, has proved the most successful artificial method 

 yet discovered and used in this state. . . . Large numbers of the 

 flies have been captured by this simple means, and if consistently and 

 universally used would cause a great reduction of the pest. Large 

 numbers of the flies so caught have been examined and found to contain 

 eggs. " Newman now adds " large numbers " to his previous statement 

 "female flies removed from the oil showed upon examination to be 

 fertile, being yet full of eggs." 



In New South Wales, Allen (1907, p. 546) experimented with kero- 

 sene to trap the Mediterranean fruit fly and says that the fly was 

 "caught in quantities" but he fails to mention the number of males 

 and females captured. 



Gurney (1908, p. 581) and (1910, p. 425) also of New South Wales 

 tried the kerosene method of controlling the Mediterranean fruit fly 

 and writes, "As many as 200 adults have been captured in a couple of 

 tins within three days." But like Allen he does not state the per cent 

 of males and females captured. 



A few South African entomologists also experimented with kerosene 

 to trap the Mediterranean fruit fly and although some experimental 

 work was carried on yet all of these entomologists overlooked the fact 

 that the number of female flies captured in the oil form but a small per 

 cent of the total number of flies caught. 



Dewar (1908, p. 3) captured 444 fruit flies in 122 days in two tins 

 containing kerosene, "one placed in, and the other under, a small citrus 

 tree," but no mention was made of the ratio of males to females. 



Mally (1908, pp. 3-5) tested the fondness of the fruit flies in captivity 

 for kerosene and certain sweets. He liberated over 1,000 fruit flies 

 in a cage containing two dishes of kerosene and "after six hours only 

 37 flies had been caught" but no mention was made of the number of 

 males and females captured. 



Lounsbury (1908, p. 6) kept a record of the number of fruit flies that 

 he captured in kerosene and in two of the catches he stated the number 

 of males and females removed from the trap. "On January 19 the 

 first fruit fly, a male, was found in the oil; and in the week following 

 three more were taken. Then from January 26 to February 6, five 

 were taken. After that the catch became much better. Between 

 February 6 and 11, 10 females and 12 males became victims. For the 

 next 10 days the total was 19, and for the next week, 15; and from then, 

 February 28 to March 17, the total was 30." 



