448 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. II, No. 6 
in Porto Rico, both by Mr. W. V. Tower and by the late Mr. C. W. 
Hooker, but these specimens were not received for identification until much 
later. Quite recently a brief account by Hooker (1913) 1 of the occur¬ 
rence of the papaya fruit fly in Porto Rico and its infestation of the 
“lechosa,” as the papaya is there called, has appeared. 
In addition, the fly has been reported, without indication of its habits, 
from the following localities: Island of St. Jean in the Danish West 
Indies (Gerstaecker, i860), erroneously given by Van der Wulp (1898) 
and Aldrich (1905, p. 600) as “St. John, Antigua”; Brazil (Bigot, 1884); 
Pebas, Peru (von Roder, 1891); Yucatan (Snow, 1895; Van der Wulp, 
1898). It is evident that Toxotrypana curvicauda has a very wide dis¬ 
tribution in tropical America, probably coextensive with its food plant. 2 
In Florida, Miami appeared to be the northernmost point of distribu¬ 
tion at the close of 1912. Examination of cultivated, wild, and semiwild 
fruit at Little River and in the hammock belt as far north as Arch Creek 
showed no trace of the larvae. Recently, in 1914, however, the fly has 
been reported as very destructive at Palm Beach, considerably farther 
north. To the south it was found at Key Largo in 1912. Here papayas 
grow scattered about in cleared land, and the fruit was found infested to 
a considerable extent. Mature larvae were obtained from ripe fruit and 
the imago reared therefrom. Under papaya plants that had been fruit¬ 
ing, puparia or empty pupal shells could always be found. At Mar¬ 
athon, about midway on the Florida Keys, no traces of the fly could be 
found, although many wild papayas occurred among the wild growth. 
Conditions farther to the south appeared to be unpromising, and no 
further search for the fly was made in that direction. 
Considerable interest attached to the question whether the papaya 
fruit fly existed in the near-by Bahama Islands, as it seemed highly proba¬ 
ble that it was from there that the fly had found its way to Florida. This 
point was definitely decided. The Island of New Providence, which lies 
about 200 miles east of Miami and which is in most frequent communi¬ 
cation with the mainland, was visited and the papaya fruit fly located 
without difficulty. Adults were reared from some of the larvae and 
puparia obtained on this island, which precludes all doubt as to the iden¬ 
tity of the pest. 
DESCRIPTION OF PAPAYA FRUIT FLY 
THE ADULT 
The papaya fruit fly {Toxotrypana curvicauda) belongs to the dipter¬ 
ous family Trypetidae and exhibits a certain superficial resemblance to 
a common brown wasp (Polistes). This is due not only to its similarity 
of size, form, and general coloration, but in life this is accentuated by the 
manner in which it walks about on the fruit, with its body well elevated 
upon its slender legs, and by a certain nervousness of movement. The 
female is remarkable for its long and slender curved ovipositor, which 
exceeds the length of its body. 
Female (PI. XLI, fig- 1). —Yellow and brown, marked with black. Head broad, 
fully as wide as the thorax at wing base, inserted upon a slender prothoracic neck; 
eyes elongate, subovate, prominent, bulging at the sides, separated by about their own 
1 Bibliographic citations in parentheses refer to "Literature cited,” p. 453. 
2 The papaya is a native of tropical America and is now cultivated for its fruit throughout the Tropics 
of both hemispheres. Its introduction into Florida is probably comparatively recent, although no data 
bearing on this point are available, and the wild plants in southern Florida and the adjacent keys are 
seedlings from such introduced plants. 
