BUREAU OF PLANT QUARANTINE 29 
COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS 
A total of 5,213 collections of specimens, comprising 7,089 adults and 18,823 
larvae, were identified during the fiscal year. Of the adults, 1,343 and of the 
larvae 18,726 were fruit flies. Most of the collections of larvae were made in 
Matamoros, Mexico, from fruits shipped into that city from other parts of 
Mexico. 
In an effort to determine, if possible, whether any of the native brush fruits 
were serving as hosts to any of the various species of Anastrepha, systematic 
collections of brush fruits were made and forwarded to the laboratory at Harlin- 
gen for pupation studies. A total of 700 such collections were made. A number 
of adults of Zonosema sp. emerged from collections of Solarium and two trypetid 
pupae were recovered from huisache beans. 
FRUIT STERILIZATION NOT REQUIRED 
The evidence of the trapping records indicated that adult fruit flies drifted 
considerably from grove to grove. Intensive inspections of fruit during the har- 
vesting season in those groves in which adult fruit flies were taken gave negative 
results insofar as larvae of A. ludens were concerned, no fruit infested with such 
larvae being found until after the harvesting period had closed in the spring. 
As it cannot be stated definitely that the fruit in a grove in which adult fruit 
flies were taken was infested with larvae, it was not deemed advisable to declare 
infested zones, with the consequent requirements of sterilization or limited desti- 
nation of the fruit. However, the growers and packers cooperated splendidly in 
seeing that practically all of the grapefruit from the groves in which adult fruit 
flies were taken was harvested immediately and shipped to northern markets 
outside the area in which the Mexican fruit fly is likely to be able to become 
established. 
HOST-FREE PERIOD 
Under an administrative order issued in July, the harvesting period for citrus 
fruits was extended 3 months, the opening and closing dates being September 1, 
1933, and April 30, 1934, rather than October 1 and March 1, respectively. This 
extension was made necessary by the potential crop on the trees at the time, the 
harvesting of which would have been impracticable in the regular 5-month 
period. Two severe tropical hurricanes occurred on August 4 and September 
4, however, and destroyed about 75 percent of the citrus crop of the year. The 
small crop left by the storms was practically harvested by the end of March, and 
in view of the considerable numbers of adult fruit flies taken in the traps during 
the winter months, it was deemed advisable to revoke the extension and close the 
harvesting season on April 5. 
The better price offered by buyers for the relatively small amount of fruit left 
on the trees after the storms, caused the cutting crews and grove owners to mat e 
an exceptionally clean job of harvesting the marketable fruit in the groves. 
Very little "off-bloom" fruit was noticed in any of the orchards. In view of the 
unusual cleanliness of the groves, it was believed that the amount of money 
heretofore expended for labor in making a tree-to-tree inspection of the bearing 
trees of the valley could be more advantageously used in the purchase of additional 
glass traps. Accordingly, at the close of the harvesting period in the spring < f 
1934 the inspectors checked the groves of their respective districts closely enough 
to make sure that no more than an occasional fruit remained in the trees. 
ELIMINATION OF ALTERNATE HOST-FRUIT TREES 
During the year, 330 alternate host-fruit trees, including 254 guava, 62 peach, 
6 plum, 4 apple, 3 sapote, and 1 pear, died or were dug up. A number of these 
were old trees that had died of root rot or front the effects of the hurricanes 
referred to above. The remainder were mostly seedlings, which were dug out 
with the owners' permission. A total of 40,623 alternate host-fruit treei 
been destroyed during the past 6 years. 
POISON SIMMY 
Experience gained in the four valley-wide applications of nicotine-molasses 
spray during the fiscal year 1933 showed thai a complete coverage "i" the larger 
trees with the spray was an impossibility with the knapsack Bprayera. h was 
believed that the complete coverage obtainable with a power sprayer in groves 
