THE MEDITEKBANEAN FEUIT FLY. 



tralia might be added to impress one unfamiliar with the ravages of this 

 pest that it is one that can not be trifled with. The amount of 

 damage which would result through the introduction of this fruit 

 fly is so great that every effort should be taken to prevent its estab- 

 lishment in new terri- 

 tory. 



WHAT THE MEDITERRA- 

 NEAN FRUIT FLY IS 

 LIKE. 



The adults.— The 



Mediterranean fruit fly 



is an insect that in the 



adult stage resembles in 



size and general shape 



the ordinary house fly, 



3ut differs greatly in the 



color pattern of the 



3ody and wings and in 



its habits. In figure 5 



three adults may be seen 



attempting to lay eggs 



in an orange. The glis- 

 tening black spots upon 



the insects' back, the 



;wo white bands on the yellowish abdomen, and the yellow and 



black markings of the wings at once distinguish this fruit fly from 



all other insects in Hawaii. The colors, brown, yellow, black, and 



white, predominate and form a pattern that can be recognized easily 



after comparison with the drawing of the 

 adult fly (fig. 1). 



The eggs. — The female fly is able to 

 drill, with the sharp end of her body, small 

 pinhole-like breaks or punctures in the skin 

 of fruits, and through these punctures she 

 lays her eggs. Naturally, these egg punc- 

 tures are so small that they are not seen 

 by the average person. Ordinarily the fly 



M, ,; Cross section of a L apricot la J S fr0m ° ne to six G &g S through these 



showing eggs laid through skin in five holes into a small cavity made for them 



places. (Authors' illustration.) , ,i • i i • • i t 



just beneath m the pulp or rind. In 

 some instances several hundred of the small white eggs, which 

 are only about one-twenty-seventh of an inch long and shaped as 

 those illustrated in figures 6, 7, and 21, may accumulate in a single 



103876°— 18— Bull. 640 2 



Fig. 5. — Three adults of the Mediterranean fruit fly on a sweet 

 orange. About two-thirds natural size. (Authors' illustration.) 



