MEDITERRANEAN FRUIT FLY IN HAWAII. 3 



locate this species, except where it is known beyond question to have 

 been introduced,- has led entomologists to seek its original home else- 

 where. Known facts concerning the artificial spread of this pest 

 narrow its probable origin to the African continental area. According 

 to Bezzi, the genus Ceratitis is of African origin. Information gamed 

 by various writers indicates that southern Europe is not its native 

 home, although it has been recorded from this region for many years. 

 Leonardi states that the Mediterranean fruit fly was not recorded as a 

 pest in southern Italy until 1863, nor in Sicily until 1878. Had it been 

 a native of Italy its ravages, as were those of the olive fruit fly (Dacus 

 oleae Rossi), would have attracted the attention of writers prior to 

 this time. While De Breme first records specimens reared in southern 

 Spain in 1842, it is easier, in the light of more recent investigation, 

 to believe Spain to be an adopted rather than the original home. 

 Compere states that in 1903 there was living at Carcagente, Valencia 

 County, Spain, an aged priest who could well remember the time in 

 his childhood that peaches in that part of Spain were free from fruit- 

 fly attack. Compere is also authority for the statement that com- 

 mission merchants at Seville found that the pest was spreading 

 farther inland to the north every season, even as late as 1903. The 

 work of Graham (1910) and Silvestri (1912) has proved that C. 

 capitata is present in the little-developed West African countries of 

 Nigeria, Dahomey, and the Kongo, and Gowdy found the species 

 already established in Uganda as early in the development of that 

 country as 1909. These records, coupled with the information by 

 the South African entomologists regarding its spread into the south- 

 ern part of the African Continent, lend color to the statement of 

 Silvestri that the natural habitat of Ceratitis capitata is " certainly 

 tropical Africa south of 8° N. latitude." Silvestri, however, is of the 

 opinion that one can not state whether the whole of this region should 

 be considered as the natural habitat, or only the western portion, 

 until careful studies have been made in French Equatorial Africa 

 and British East Africa. Further exploration of the west coast of 

 Africa north of 8° north latitude is very likely to establish new rec- 

 ords of distribution and extend somewhat these limits of origin to 

 include more semi tropical territory. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



The Mediterranean fruit fly is at present established on every 

 continent except that of North America. It has been recorded 

 from the following regions : 



Europe: Spain, France, southern Italy, Sicily, Greece, and Malta, 



Asia: Asiatic Turkey (Beirut, Jerusalem, Jaffa.) 



Africa: Egypt (Cairo and Kafir el Zayet), Tunis, Algeria, the Azores, Madeira 

 Islands, Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands, Dahomey, southern Nigeria, 

 the Kongo, Cape Colony, Natal, Delagoa Bay. southern Rhodesia, British 

 East Africa, Uganda Protectorate, Mauritius, and Madagascar. 



