Dacus cucurbitae Coquillett, 1899

O. H. Swezey, 1946, SOME MISCELLANEOUS DIPTERA OF GUAM, Insects of Guam-II, Hawaii, Honolulu: Bernice P. Bishop Museum, pp. 195-200 : 199

20. Dacus cucurbitae Coquillett ,

Ent. News 10: 129, 1899.

This is the notorious melon fly which was described on material from Hawaii, where it appeared as an immigrant cucumber and melon pest prior to 1899. It has also been recorded in India, Ceylon, Java, Timor, Philippines, Singapore, southern China, Japan and Australia.

It was first discovered in Guam on November 7, 1936, when we found infested cucumbers in a school garden at Piti . From these cucumbers, 161 flies issued on November 16 to 18 . Apparently it was of somewhat recent introduction in Guam and had not yet become widely spread, for the principal cucumber growers had not reported any injury by it. Search for the pest was made in November in various districts of Guam. In a garden on the plateau above Agana , one malformed cucumber was found which showed injury by the maggots, and two small pumpkins were infested with maggots . On November 21, at the Agana vegetable market, an infested cucumber was found which had come from a Talofofo garden . No evidence was found of the pest in other localities at that time.