THE MEDITERRANEAN FRUIT FLY. 



37 



PROTECTIVE COVERINGS. 



The only certain method now known of protecting fruit from fruit- 

 fly attack in Hawaii is to cover them, when still very green, with some 

 type of covering through which the fly can not lay her eggs. In many 

 places ordinary cheesecloth sewed into bags, large enough to be slipped 

 over the tree and tied about the trunk, have been used. These have 

 been tried in Honolulu, but difficulty was experienced in putting the 

 bags on soon enough and in making certain that no adult female flies 

 were inclosed during the process. 

 Considering the cost of material 

 and the real danger of inclosing 

 flies, the impossibility of covering 

 many trees, and the breakage due 

 to winds, this method of protection 

 is not recommended. 



The protection of the fruit on 

 individual branches with cover- 

 ings of cloth or paper is entirely 

 feasible and very popular in Ha- 

 waii, Individual fruits inclosed 

 inordinary paper bags (fig. 29) are 

 "well and cheaply protected. Cov- 

 erings of cheesecloth for separate 

 fruits are not as good as paper, for 

 the fruit fly can lay her eggs 

 through certain coarser-woven 

 kinds after the cloth has become 

 matted against the fruit by rains. 



Orange and small mango trees 

 with their fruits inclosed in paper 

 bags are often seen in Honolulu. 

 Though this method of covering 

 each fruit gives protection, it in- 

 volves much labor and patience, 

 and its practicability can be de- 

 termined only by the value placed 

 upon the fruit by the owner. So severe, however, is fruit-fly attack 

 in Hawaii that this method, or some one of its many modified forms, 

 must be used if fruits are to be brought to maturity uninfested. 



Fig. 29.— Quince fruit protected from fruit-fly 

 attack by a paper bag. The bag is slipped over 

 the fruit while it is still quite green. Although 

 this method of protection is not practical on a 

 large scale, it is used much in Hawaii for the 

 protection of dooryard or experimental fruits. 

 (Original.) 



NATURAL CONTROL OF THE FRUIT FLY. 



No striking examples of control by natural agencies were evident 

 in Hawaii previous to the introduction of parasites. Larvae are killed 

 in large numbers within fruits which are permitted to remain on the 



