134 



ploughing, the burning over of weedy places near the potato fields and 

 the burning of the old potato stalks are measures recommended. 

 Cultivated roses should be sprayed with some good tobacco decoction 

 if founci to be infested in the spring, both as a direct measure for the 

 rose bushes and an indirect one for the potato crop to which the Aphids 

 migrate later on. If the infestation on potatoes is excessive, a tobacco 

 spray may be applied. For infestation in the greenhouse either tobacco 

 sprays or fumigation may be resorted to. Black Leaf, Black Leaf 40, 

 or a home-macle tobacco decoction, containing 2 lb. of tobacco stems 

 or tobacco dust in 4 U.S. gallons of watei', may be used. AVhen other 

 insect pests are also present, a combination spray, such as lime-sulphur 

 and tobacco, may often be applied successfully. A bibliography of 

 twelve works is given. 



Brain (C. K.). The Coccidae of South Africa — i. — Trans. R. Soc. 

 South Africa, Caye Town, v, no. 2, 18th November 1915, 

 pp. 65-194, 38 figs., 12 plates. [Received 17th February 1916.] 



This is an account of representatives of the subfamilies, Pseudo- 

 cocciNAE, Ortheziinae, Coccinae, Monophlebinae, and Margaro- 

 DiNAE, collected in Cape Colony, Natal and Rhodesia ; many new 

 species are described. 



Back (E. A.) & Pemberton (C. E.). Banana as a Host Fruit of the 

 ! Mediterranean Fruit Fly.— JL Agrk. Research, Washington, D.C., 



V, no. 17, 24th January 191(5, pp. 793-804, 4 plates. 



Although it has been proved that bananas may serve as host fruits 

 for Ceratitis capitata, Wied. (Mediterranean frait-liy), certain varieties, 

 such as Chinese and Jamaica bananas, when cut and shipped under 

 commercial conditions, have been found to be immune to attack. 

 They therefore oii'er no danger as carriers of this pest, if properly 

 inspected according to the rules of the Federal Horticultural Board. 

 The immunity of these varieties was rendered more evident from the 

 fact that adult flies of both sexes were trapped in all banana plantations 

 and surrounding fruits knoAvn to be hosts were heavily infested. The 

 copious flow of sap from egg-punctures made by fruit-flies in unripe 

 bananas renders oviposition difficult ; if eggs are successfully deposited, 

 neither these nor newly-hatched larvae can survive in the tannin-laden 

 peel of green, though mature, fruit. Obsers^'ations on the Chinese 

 banana have shown that, even when ripe, the fruit is not attractive 

 as a host to fruit-flies under Hawaiian conditions. On the other hand, 

 the rearing of flies from ripe and yellow fruits of the thin-skinned 

 Popoulu variety under experimental conditions leads to the con- 

 clusion that ripe bananas in the field may serve as hosts, and should 

 therefore be guarded against in quarantine work. The authors believe 

 that bunches of any variety of banana now growing in the Hawaiian 

 Islands, when properly inspected for the removal of prematurely ripe, 

 cracked, or partially decayed fruits, of?er no danger as carriers of the 

 fruit-fly, provided they are wrapped and shipped in accordance with 

 the Federal regulations. 



