Dec, '12] SEVERIN AND HARTUXG: MEDITERRANEAN FRUIT FLY 447 



In the next experiment green Chinese bananas were immersed in 

 orange juice from 12 to 48 hours with the hope that the odor of this 

 juice would induce the insect to oviposit in the fruit. Again, as in 

 the preceding experiment, specimens of Ceratitis that had been cap- 

 tured in the field were confined for several days in jars, each of which 

 contained 2 bananas. After the lapse of this time, these bananas 

 were transferred to jars containing about 2 inches of sterilized sand. 

 No adults were bred from these bananas. 



Fruit flies were next confined from 1 to 3 days in dozens of jars each 

 of which contained 2 ripe bananas wdth the peel intact. As in the 

 preceding experiment, the bananas at the end of this time were trans- 

 ferred to jars containing about 2 inches of sterilized sand. From all 

 of these bananas there were but two from which adults were bred and 

 these together gave rise to 19 male and 13 female flies. 



Fruit flies were confined vdth. ripe bananas from 4 to 5 days. These 

 bananas, when transferred, showed evidence of blackened or decayed 

 areas on the peel. The results from this experiment were as follows: 

 22 males, 18 females bred from 4 bananas that had been kept with 

 the fruit flies for 4 daj's; 24 males, 14 females bred from 4 bananas 

 that had been kept with the fruit flies for 5 days. 



The third problem which we attempted to solve was : Will the Med- 

 iterranean fruit fly in conflnement deposit its eggs in the exposed pidp 

 of green or ripe Chinese bananas? 



Fruit flies that had been captured in the field were confined for sev- 

 eral days in jars, each of which contained 2 green Chinese bananas 

 with a portion of the peel removed. In this experiment a crust soon 

 formed over the exposed pulp and later became covered with a fungus 

 gro'«i:h. From time to time both the crust and the fungus were scraped 

 off with a knife. With one exception, no fruit flies were bred from 

 the green bananas treated in this manner. In the exception, the pulp 

 of the banana had split longitudinally, the peel had been removed so 

 as to expose this crack and also a considerable amount of pulp imme- 

 diately surrounding the split region. Decay set in along the split 

 region and from this banana fruit flies were bred. 



An experiment similar to the preceding was then performed with 

 ripe bananas. The exposed pulp served not only as a favorable food 

 material for the adults, but also a suitable medium for the growth of 

 the maggots. The late Mr. F. W. Terry of the Hawaiian Sugar Plant- 

 ers' Experiment Station was the first to obtain and report this result, 

 and this was later confirmed by Mr. D. T. Fullaway of the Hawaii 

 Agricultural Experiment Station. 



Forcing the Mediterranean fruit flies to breed in green or ripe Chinese 



