196 



does immediately after copulation. This is in striking contrast to 

 the case of the Smyrna tig insect in which, the male is supposed, 

 as stated by Eisen, to liberate the female after copulation. However, 

 observations on this point should be repeated. The male continues 

 on its quest, rapidly gnawing into gall after gall and repeating the 

 act of copulation, until exhausted and dying. In its nervous haste it 

 occasionally bites into the stamens also, but any intentional attack 

 on the stamens, as described by Cunningham for Ficus Roxburghii, 

 does not occur in Ficus nota. With the rapid emergence of the 

 males, followed by the emergence of the females, the scene in the fig 

 becomes exceedingly animated, and the more so because during 

 this time, males also of various guests and parasites begin to emerge 

 and seek their respective females. 



It is a remarkable fact that the tens of thousands of Blastophagas, 

 guests, and parasites, constantly emerging, apparently make direct 

 for other tigs on the same trees or go to other trees of Ficus noia. 

 In case the female Blastophaga passes to younger figs on the same 

 tree or on another caprifig, she proce^'ds at once to the ostiolar end 

 of the receptacle and enters there pushing her body back and forth 

 between the closely overlapping scales in most laborious fashion, 

 until the interior is reached." Whether the wings are broken off 

 during this attempt, as states by Eisen for the Smyrna Blastophaga 

 or whether they are deliberately removed by the insect tiself, as 

 occurs in the female of many ants, Mr. Baker was unable to ascertain. 

 In any event entrance of the fig always involved dealation. "Having ac- 

 complishedentry to the fig. the females find the specially modified funnel 

 shaped stigmas awaiting the deposition of eggs, and insert one to 

 each style just within the ovary, so that it lies upon the ovule 

 destined to furnish food to the developing larva. One female is 



capable of depositing very many eggs ; and often as many 



as a dozen females or more gain entrance to the same fig, so that the 

 oviposition is usually quite complete. The female dies immediately 

 after egg-laying is concluded. However, in case the female has 

 found her way to a tree bearing only figs destined to produce seed, 

 and she seems entirely incapable of detecting this fact, she enters the 



figs in the same way, but there encounters only stigmas not 



adapted to the reception of her eggs. She vainly searches the interior 

 of the fig, over and over, involuntarily distributing to the normal 

 stigmas the pollen with which her body was thoroughly dusted, until 

 thw'arted and exhausted, she finally dies. From one to a dozen or 

 more dead bodies of females sacrificed to this service may be found 

 in each young fertile fig." 



None of the guests nor parasites of Ficus nota enters the fig b)' 

 the ostiole for oviposition as does the Blastophaga. They all possess 

 ovipositors of extraordinary length with which the entire wall of the 

 receptacle is pierced. Thus are they of no use in the bringing 

 of figs to maturity. It is the female Blastophaga which alone does 

 the work. 



