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which  are  peculiar  to  them.  In  South  Africa  and  Australia  Cera- 
titis  has  always  been  considered  one  of  the  worst  fruit  pests, 
agriculturists  are  therefore  very  much  prejudiced  against  it  and 
have  instructed  entomologists  to  study  it  particularly.  Various 
artificial  remedies  have  been  recommended  but  all  without  prac- 
tical result,  hence  in  this  more  than  in  any  other  case  the  natural 
fighting  method  has  been  given  consideration. 
Australia  was  first  in  entrusting  to  G.  Compere  the  task  of 
establishing  the  real  home  of  Ceratitis,  searching  there  for  para- 
sites and  sending-  them  to  Australia. 
Compere,  with  the  enthusiasm  and  the  confidence  which  he  has 
in  the  natural  fighting  method,  embarked  at  once  on  a voyage  to 
carry  out  his  task,  and  believing  that  Ceratitis  had  probably  been 
introduced  in  Spain,  and  from  there  to  southern  Europe  from 
some  Spanish  colony,  went  before  all  to  the  Philippine  Islands 
then  also  to  China  and  Japan,  but  without  succeeding  to  find 
Ceratitis.  From  Japan  he  went  to  California,  which  State  also 
subsidized  him  for  the  search  of  parasites  and  from  there  to 
Europe  (1903)  where  he  first  visited  Spain  and  then  France  and 
Italy. 
In  Spain  he  found  parasites  of  Carpocapsa,  but  neither  in  that 
country  nor  in  the  others  those  of  Ceratitis.  He  thereupon  re- 
turned to  Australia  and  shortly  afterwards  went  to  Ceylon  and 
India  where  he  had  occasion  to  observe  several  species  of  fruit 
flies  and  their  parasites  but  not  Ceratitis. 
With  admirable  perseverance  on  his  part,  though  still  greater 
on  the  part  of  the  governments  which  paid  the  necessary  expenses, 
he  went  in  1904  to  Brazil,  where  he  knew,  from  information 
received,  that  Ceratitis  was  to  be  found.  There  he  succeeded 
in  finding  parasitic  Ichneumons  and  a Staphylinid  predator  of 
that  species.  Believing  that  those  would  be  able  to  control  Cera- 
titis, he  collected  considerable  numbers  of  the  Staphylinid  and 
parasitised  pupae  of  the  fly,  brought  them  to  Australia  alive  and 
in  his  report  shouted  victory  a little  too  optimistically  when  he 
wrote : “In  Brazil  as  in  India,  the  power  of  nature  to  keep  this 
destructive  fly  under  control  is  complete”  and  further  on  “once 
these  parasites  shall  have  become  acclimatised  in  Western  Aus- 
tralia nothing  more  is  to  be  feared  from  Ceratitis,  the  most  in- 
nocuous indigenous  insect.” 
This  optimism  enthused  also  the  entomologists  of  Natal  and 
Cape  Colony  who,  upon  informing  their  respective  governments 
of  the  results  anticipated  in  Australia  with  the  introductcion  of 
parasites  of  Ceratitis  from  Brazil,  at  once  obtained  the  means  to 
go  to  South  America. 
C.  Fuller  and  C.  P.  Lounsbury  left  on  the  4th  of  January  from 
Capetown  and  arrived  at  Bahia  on  the  28th  of  the  same  month. 
Fuller  made  his  observations  only  in  this  locality,  while  Louns- 
bury visited  also  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Sao  Paula,  Montevideo  and 
Buenos  Airos. 
