jan. 24,1916 Banana , Host Fruit of Mediterranean Fruit Fly 
803 
This immunity is shown to be due to the fact that neither the egg nor 
the newly hatched larva of the fruit fly can survive in the tannin-laden 
peel of green though mature fruit. In fact, the copious and sudden flow 
of sap from egg punctures made by fruit flies in unripe bananas renders 
the successful deposition of eggs in such fruits difficult and rare. 
The fact that not 1 of 1,044 fruits of the Chinese banana ripening 
singly and prematurely among bunches growing in the field, and upon 
which, as in the case of other host fruits, one might expect gravid females 
to concentrate their attention for the purpose of oviposition, has been 
found to be infested leads to the conclusion that even ripe bananas are 
not desired as host fruits by adult fruit flies under Hawaiian conditions. 
On the other hand, the rearing of flies from the ripe and yellow fruits of 
the thin-skinned Popoulu variety, as well as from ripe fruits of other 
varieties under forced and unnatural conditions, leads to the equally 
acknowledged fact that ripe bananas in the field may serve as hosts and 
should therefore be properly guarded against in all quarantine work. 
From the facts stated the writers believe that bunches of any variety 
of banana now growing in the Hawaiian Islands, when properly inspected 
for the removal of prematurely ripe, cracked, or partially decayed fruits, 
offer no danger as carriers of the Mediterranean fruit fly, provided they 
are wrapped and shipped in accordance with the demands of the trade 
and the Federal regulations. 
LITERATURE CITED 
(1) Helms, R. 
1899. Report of the biologist. In Rpt. Dept. Agr. [West. Aust.], [July]/Dec. 
1898, p. 17-20. 
(2) Higgins, J. E. 
1904. The banana in Hawaii, Hawaii Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 7, 53 p., 9 pi., 9 fig. 
(3) French, C. 
1907. Fruit flies. In Jour. Dept. Agr. Victoria, v. 5, no. 5, p. 301-312, 1 pi. 
(4) Kirk, T. W. 
1909. Fruit flies. New Zealand Dept. Agr. Div. Biol. Bui. 22, 18 p., 2 fig. 
(5) SevErin, H. H. P., and Hartung, W. J. 
1912. Will the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata Wied.) breed inbananas 
under artificial and natural conditions ? In Mo. Bui. State Com. Hort. 
[Cal.], v. 1, no. 9, p. 566-569. 
( 6 ) - 
1912. Will the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata Wied.) breed in 
bananas under artificial and field conditions? In Jour. Econ. Ent., v. 
5, no. 6, p. 443-45 1 - 
(7) SEVERIN, H. H. P. 
1913. Precautions taken and the danger of introducing the Mediterranean fruit 
fly (Ceratitis capitata Wied.) into the United States. In Jour. Econ. 
Ent., v. 6, no. 1, p. 68-73. 
(8) U. S, Department op Agriculture. Federal Horticultural Board. 
1914. Mediterranean fruit fly and melon fly. U. S. Dept. Agr. Fed. Hort. Bd. 
Notice of Quarantine 13, 4 p. 
