Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1911-06-21
OFFICIAL REPORT
ON fruit FLY
Life History Is Prepared
BY Division of En-
tOm0lOgy.

| 1CrfltOrlal Bureau OF Agriculture ana
Forestry.
The Mediterranean fruit fly tCera-
tatis CapitataI has unfortunately
been found on Oahu This insect and
the Melon fly tDacus curcubitae) arc
closely related and resemble each
other very much. The habits of both,
one destroying soft-meated fruit and
the other vegetables, such as beans,
| tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, etc,
are very similar The adult fly pune
lures the fruit or vegetable and lays
Il few eggs therein, these hatch into
maggots, which soon cause a decay
spot In the fruit, and before II ripens
II generally drops to the ground:
vegetables usually decay long before
maturing and become unmarketable.
The Melon fly Is better known to the
growers of these islands. as II has
been here for many years. II Is prob
! ably OF Oriental origin, being found
in India. Ceylon. and adjacent couD-
tries. The Mediterranean Fruit ny
is probably native of Southern Eu-
rope or Africa, Spain being the first
country from which II has been re-
ported.
OF all the pests that have turned
their attention to cultivated fruits or
vegetables there Is no group that
does the damage In as short a period
as these As the maggots are pro-
tectcd in the pulp OF the fruit, II is
next to impossible for any applied
remedies to reach them. Some sue
cess has been obtained in using a
poisoned sweet bait to attract the
adult fly and poison 1t. In some
countries II Is claimed that parasites
keep these pests in check, and must
naturally be the best and cheapest
remedy In the end
From general observations the
work of the Mediterranean Fruit fly
can be traced here for at least three
years. although the adult was not OBJ
served until the middle of this year.
! Its spread Is confined, as far az search
has been made, to the vicinity OF Ho-
nolulu proper All Citrus fruits are
attacked, and we have also bred the
fly from guava. In other countries
1t Is reported as attacking all fruits
except Bananas, Pineapples and
| Olives. This pest has become VERY
widely distributed in many countries,
and Is now recorded from the Medi-
terranean region, Azores, Southern
Africa, East Coast of South America.
West Indies, Australia and New Zea-
land.
The adult fly is about the size Of
common house fly, body ochreous yell
low. eyes of reddish purple tint the
dorsal surface of thorax Is quite rails
ed aud of dirty white color, mot
ted' with shining black blotches pre-
senting mosaic pattern. Wings are
broad, semi-opaque, with many ire
gular black blotches and lines and
yellow markings. The female has a
well-developed ovipositor, with which
the fruit is easily punctured The
male and female flies resemble each
other, but the first can be readily
recognized, by having a pair of we'll
developed. bristle-like filamep,s
standing out in front Of the head. and
which end In acknowledged spatu-
late appendage. The maggot is hard
to locate In the pulp of the fruit as
It's color and shape Resembles the
small yellow cells of the orange. II
Is about half an inch long when full
grown. As soon as the maggot has
reached Its growth II leaves the fruit
and crawls into the ground, and very
soon turns into a yellowish brown
pupa. According to the weather, the
time from the egg to the adult ay
varies from 30 days to 40 days.
In coping with this pest the most
advisable method at present Is by
clean culture by which Is meant the
gathering and destroying of all infes;-
ed fruit. II will readily be seen that
If infested fruit Is allowed to remain
after dropping, the maggots will be
able to escape and burrow into the
ground. but when all infested fruit Is
collected, but small percentage of
been successfully carried on in Ber-
muda; in fact, to such an extent that
fhe pest has been reduced to mini
mum.
New Regulations.
On account of the outbreak OF the
Mediterranean Fruit fly, Ceratatis ca
plata, the following Rule VII was
passed by the Board of Agriculture
and Forestry aud approved by Gov
ernor.
Rule VII-Rules and Regulation By
the Board of Commissioners of Agri-
culture and Forestry Concerning the
Prevention of Distribution of the Me-
diterranean Fruit Fly from Oahu to
the Other Islands,
The Board OF Commissioners OF Az
rlculture and Forestry of the Terri
tory of Hawaii hereby make the fol-
lowing rule and regulation:
Section /, For the purpose of pre-