PAPAYA FRUIT FLY 
By Frederick Knab and W. W. Yothers, 
Entomological Assistants , Tropical and Subtropical Fruit Insect Investigations, 
Bureau of Entomology 
INTRODUCTION 
The existence in Florida of a fruit fly peculiar to the papaya (Carica 
papaya L.) was brought to the attention of this department in December, 
1905, by the receipt of some fruits of this plant infested with large mag¬ 
gots of an unknown fly. This infested fruit was forwarded by Mr. P. J. 
Wester, then in charge of the Subtropical Plant Introduction Field Sta¬ 
tion at Miami. From this material an adult insect was ultimately reared 
and was determined by the late Mr. D. W. Coquillett as Toxotrypana cur - 
vicauda Gerstaecker. The papaya not being a plant of special economic 
importance at that time, no further investigation was made, but in the 
summer of 1912, Mr. H. M. Russell, an assistant in the Bureau of Ento¬ 
mology stationed at Miami, again reported the presence of maggots in 
locally grown fruit. In the meantime it had developed that the papaya 
might reasonably be expected to become an important commercial crop 
in Florida, and therefore this insect at once assumed an economic impor¬ 
tance, in that it presented a serious check to such commercial develop¬ 
ment. 
Infested fruit was again obtained from the Plant Introduction Field 
Station at Miami through Mr. Edward Simmonds, now in charge of that 
station, and from this material Mr. E. R. Sasscer, of the Federal Hor¬ 
ticultural Board, reared in November, 1912, a single female fly. In the 
meantime, in October, the junior author had been making field studies 
of the insect at Miami. Data on its larval habits were obtained, and 
adults were reared, both from wild and from cultivated papayas. All of 
this reared material, together with a captured specimen, proved to be 
Toxotrypana curvicauda . The senior author followed up this work in 
November, 1912, at Miami, and carried the exploration to the Florida 
Keys and to the Island of New Providence (Bahamas). The habits, life 
history, and descriptive details given below are based on these studies. 
OEDER RECORDS AND DISTRIBUTION 
The specific identity of the papaya fly having been established, an 
examination of the material of this species and associated references 
from various sources in the United States National Museum developed 
several older records. 
Probably the earliest specimens received were a set of four sent by 
Mr. Carlos Werckl6 from the town of Santo Domingo in Costa Rica. 
They bear no date, but are labeled “In fruit of Carica, 55 and were deter¬ 
mined by Mr. Coquillett. Under date of July 21, 1910, Dr. P. Osterhout 
sent the fly from Bocas del Toro, Panama, with the information that it 
did serious damage there to the fruit of papaya. During September, Octo¬ 
ber, and November, 191 o, the fly was reared from larvae infesting the papaya 
Journal of Agricultural Research, 
Dept, of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 
(447) 
Vol. II, No. 6 
Sept. 21, 1914 
K—io 
