130 MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



intersected with cracks, and may extend some distance into the 

 flesh. No means of controlling this bacterial disease has yet 

 been discovered. 



Of the insects which attack the mango, the fruit-flies (Trype- 

 tidse) rank first in importance. Belonging to this family are 

 the Mediterranean fruit-fly (Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann), 

 which has become a very serious pest in Hawaii and several 

 other regions; the Queensland fruit-fly (Batrocera tryoni 

 Froggatt), distributed throughout Malaysia and Australia ; the 

 mango fruit-fly (Dacus ferrugineus Fabricius), which occurs 

 from India to the Philippines; the Mexican fruit-fly (Anas- 

 trepha ludens Loew) ; and Anastrepha fraterculus Wiedemann, 

 another Mexican species, now distributed throughout Central 

 and South America and the West Indies. Several other 

 species have also been reported as attacking the mango. The 

 females of these flies insert their eggs beneath the skin or in 

 the flesh of the fruit, and the larvae render it unfit for human 

 consumption. Control is difficult; the sweetened arsenical 

 sprays have met with varied success, and control by means 

 of parasites is receiving attention. 



In some parts of India the mango hopper (various species of 

 Idiocerus) is troublesome. H. Maxwell-Lefroy J writes : 



"These insects resemble the Cicadas superficially but are 

 much smaller, being one-sixth of an inch in length. They are 

 somewhat wedge-shaped with wings sloped at an angle over 

 the back. Large numbers are found on the mango trees 

 throughout the hot weather but especially at the flowering 

 season when there is a flow of sap to the flowering shoots. 

 These insects pass through their active life on the tree, sucking 

 the juice of the soft shoots and causing them to wither. . . . 

 There is only one effective treatment which must be adopted 

 vigorously. This is spraying with strong contact poison such 

 as crude oil emulsion or sanitary fluid." 

 1 Indian Insect Pests. 



