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