FIG. 141. Pollenation of the fig 



The larva of the little wasp Blastophaga passes the winter in the sterile pistil,/!, of the 

 winter fruit, a^ of the caprifig, A. In the spring the adults appear, the wingless male 

 first. After fertilizing the female, the male dies. The female flies out and crawls into 

 the new figs which are just forming, 2 , and loses her wings in the process. This fig 

 carries both stamen flowers and pistil flowers, but the latter have short styles and can 

 bear no seeds. The insect lays her eggs in these sterile pistils, and the young complete 

 their development here. When the new generation of females flies out, there is a new 

 growth of fig buds on the caprifig, 3 , and also on the true fig, b on B. Some of the 

 females find their way into the caprifig receptacles, and some into the fertile-fig recep- 

 tacles, carrying with them pollen from the spring receptacle of the caprifig, a 2 . The 

 pistils of the true fig have long styles, / 2 , which can be pollenated. The styles are so 

 long, however, that the insect cannot lay her eggs on the pistil. On the other hand, the 

 pollen brought into the receptacle of the caprifig, a.^ is entirely wasted, since the pistils 

 here are sterile. A new generation of insects develops in this receptacle, and the 

 emerging females find their way into the autumn growth of new figs, in which the 

 winter is spent. The true figs can thus produce fully ripened fruit only in the presence 

 of the caprifig and of the wasp. But the wasp can complete its life cycle with the caprifig 

 alone. The insects that carry pollen (from a. 2 ) either waste this pollen and reproduce 

 themselves (in a s ) or they pollenate pistils and die without reproducing themselves (in b) 



