325 
While  Compere  succeeded  in  finding  efficient  parasites  in  India 
to  fight  the  orange  fly,  another  Australian  entomologist,  Prof. 
W.  W.  Froggatt,  of  New  South  Wales,  had  the  commission  from 
several  governments  of  the  Federation  to  the  principal  countries 
of  the  world  to  gather  information  about  the  distribution  of 
C.  capitata , the  means  of  fighting  it  and  its  parasites. 
He  went  from  Sidney  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  Mexico,  Cuba, 
West  India,  United  States,  England,  Spain,  France,  Italy,  Aus- 
tria, Turkey,  Cyprus,  Egypt,  India  and  Ceylon.  On  this  long 
journey  he  did  not  collect  any  parasites,  merely  made  arrange- 
ments with  Indian  entomologists  to  obtain  them,  though  mani- 
festing considerable  skepticism  about  the  practical  utility  of  the 
natural  fight  against  Ceratitis. 
This  example  of  capitata  has  for  us  Italians  a certain  interest 
on  account  of  Ceratitis  itself,  because  we  know  now  that  other 
parasites  capable  of  fighting  it  exist  and  that  by  introducing  them 
in  our  country  we  can  increase  the  number  of  causes  inimical  to 
it  and  so  subdue  it  entirely  or  better  present  conditions.  This 
example  further  has  an  extraordinary  importance  because  it  con- 
firms what  I have  always  maintained,  namely,  that  a natural  fight 
against  the  olive  fly  is  possible  by  means  of  parasites  of  the  same 
species  of  D'acus,  which  might  be  found  in  Asia  or  in  Africa  and 
also  by  means  of  parasites  of  other  Dacus  and  even  by  other 
genera  of  Tripetidac  of  Asia,  Africa  and  America. 
It  would  be  indeed  a crime  if  specially  at  this  time,  after  the 
experiment  with  parasites  of  Dacus  from  India,  transported,  accli- 
mated and  adapted  to  fight  Ceratitis  in  Australia  with  complete 
success,  we  would  not  also  try  with  the  greatest  confidence  the 
introduction  of  parasites  first  from  Asia  and  then  from  other 
regions  if  necessary. 
I proposed  this  at  the  International  Congress  of  olive  growers 
at  Toulon,  proposed  it  also  to  our  R.  Ministry  of  Agriculture  re- 
peating what  in  large  part  I had  also  set  forth  in  1905  (Septem- 
ber) and  1906  and  what  I had  always  maintained,  even  attacking 
in  1907  contrary  affirmations  by  others. 
LYPEROSIA  IRRITANS  (L.). 
This  fly  sucking  the  blood  of  various  domestic  animals  has  its 
home  in  Europe  and  was  imported  to  the  United  States  of  North 
America  between  1885  and  1887,  spreading  all  over  that  country. 
In  1897  it  was  brought  to  Oahu  and  was  noticed  in  the  year  fol- 
lowing also  on  the  other  Hawaiian  Islands.  Favored  in  its  new 
home  by  a warm  and  moist  climate  it  multiplied  tremendously, 
causing  serious  injury  to  cattle. 
In  Hawaii  many  artificial  measures,  preventive  and  curative, 
have  been  tried  but  have  given  poor  results,  and  several  years  ago 
a natural  fight  against  this  inset  has  been  undertaken. 
