MEDITERRANEAN FRUIT FLY IN HAWAII. 69 



only in a single break made by the mango weevil or fungus attack 

 on the skin of a large choice Indian mango. In cotton bolls eggs 

 appear to be deposited only in breaks made by the larvae of the pink 

 boll worm (Pectinopliora gossypieXla Saund.). In some varieties of 

 avocados eggs are most often deposited, in certain localities, in the 

 cracks made by fungi, although other varieties with thinner skins 

 are freely oviposited in at all points. 



DAILY RATE OF OVIPOSITION. 



No data on the daily rate of oviposition have ever been published 

 except by the writers. In a preliminary paper they record the daily 

 rate of oviposition during the first 18 weeks after emergence. In 

 Table XIX these data have been continued to include the ovipo- 

 sition records of the same females throughout life. For the daily 

 rate of oviposition for old females see Table XX. It will be noted 

 that there is considerable variation in the frequency of oviposition 

 among those specimens seemingly less hardy, but that those living 

 longest, and apparently the most normal, oviposited with great 

 regularity a few eggs nearly every day. The 9 females, the ovipo- 

 sition records of which appear in Table XIX, emerged on April 4, 

 1914, and were placed with fruit April 14. 



The best record in Table XIX is that of fly No. 5, which oviposited 

 with great regularity from April 16 to September 2. During life 

 this fly oviposited on 106 days of 153. Of the 47 days on which she 

 laid no eggs, 20 were the first 20 days of her life and 13 of these 20 

 were evidently consumed in reaching sexual maturity. Hence, after 

 she began ovipositing with regularity she failed to oviposit on only 

 27 of 133 days. Fly No. 8, which lived 147 days, oviposited on 80 

 days. Fly No. 9, which lived 65 days, deposited only 3 eggs on 

 May 4 and 5. Had it been possible to secure oviposition data on 

 many individuals it is probable that the record of fly No. 5 would 

 have been exceeded and that many gradations would have been 

 secured between the records of flies Nos. 5 and 9. This is probable, 

 inasmuch as other females recorded under the subject of longevity 

 lived to be over 10 months old, and there is no evidence that ovipo- 

 sition necessarily ceases before death. It is not likely, however, 

 that the actual number of eggs deposited on individual days would 

 have been found greater than those recorded in Table XIX. This 

 actual number of eggs deposited on individual days was found to 

 vary from 1 to 22. The average numbers of eggs deposited by the 

 9 females, taking into consideration only the days on which ovipo- 

 sition occurred, are 6.6, 3.1, 5.7, 7.5, 5.9, 6.1, 5.9, 5.2, and 1.5. Flies 

 Nos. 5 and 8, which lived the longest, deposited, respectively, an 

 average of 5.9 and 5.2 eggs. 



