268 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



*THE BLASTOPHAGA. 



Hld.stoiiliiii/ii firhssunnii (ira\-. (Family A.naonicUi?). 



General Appearance. — The adults are exceedingly small, being about 

 one sixteenth ( f an inch long, the male being brown or amber and the 

 female shiny black in color. The female is winged, has large compound 

 eyes and three ocelli ; ten-articled antennae ; well developed gnawing 

 mouth-parts and sharp ovipositor, which, when fully extended, is exceed- 

 ingly long. The male is always wingless, has small compound eyes and 

 no ocelli. The eggs are white, elliptical, with a short petiole and 

 0.092 mm. long. The larvre are legless and white with brown mandibles. 

 They are exceedingly small. 



Life History. — This very important beneficial insect is propagated 

 cnly in certain nonedible figs, known as caprifigs. In these the females 

 lay their eggs in the ovaries of the flowers by pushing the ovipositor 

 down through the hollow style. The ovaries inhal)ited by the larva? are 

 called galls, as in them the insects feed and develop. The males issue 

 first and crawl about over the galls, gnawing holes in those containing 

 the females with their powerful jaws, into which the abdominal pro- 

 jection is inserted and the females fertilized. Next day the mature 

 and fertilized females enlarge the openings and crawl out. Leaving the 

 fig by the eye they enter the next crop of figs on the same capri tree, 

 which are more in a receptive condition, unless the caprifigs containing 

 the mature insects are hung in the Smyrna trees, when tliey enter the 

 Smyrna figs. They wander about in a vain effort to get rid of their 

 eggs and in doing so distribute the pollen adhering to their bodies to 

 the female fiowers and then crawl out of the fig. 



The capri tree, the crop of which is the only one in which the insect 

 can lay its eggs, on account of the shape of the flowers, produce three 

 distinct crops, called, respectively, mamme, profichi, and mammoni. 

 The first, the over-wintering crop, contains no pollen and can not, there- 

 fore, be used to fertilize the Smyrna figs. The profichi contain an 

 abundance of pollen which is available at the time the insect reaches 

 maturity, and as at this time (June) the young Smyrna figs are in a 

 receptive condition, it is the one used to pollinate the Smyrna crop. 

 As the Smyrna fig will not develop to maturity without pollen and as 

 the flowers are inside the fig, some method must be used to carry the 

 pollen to them. For this purpose the Blastopliaga is utilized, and the act 

 <;f placing the caprifigs on the female trees is called caprification. The 

 whole Smyrna fig industry is absolutely dependent upon this process. 

 In order to provide a supply of the Blastopliaga, caprifigs are planted 

 convenient to the commercial fig orchards. These caprifig trees usually 

 hold their fruit during the winter. Occasionally, however, severe frosts 

 destroy the over-wintering caprifigs and the BlastopJiaga perishes with 

 them. To avoid such losses the mamnie crop of caprifigs, in which the 



*Tho writer is indebted to Mr. G. P. Rlxford. Bur. Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. 

 Agrcl., for tliis information regarding Blastophaga grossorum. 



