OFFlCUSiIOXnil; ( , lni 



in perforation; and in a third class they aro entirely llbltht W| 



the females still emerge in enormous numbers from the ovari ' * n ° ""^ ira pr * 



but, as they are incapable of perforating the ostiolar t>lm, 4iV!! "^ . ! he . reoe P*«Ctt 1 ' r 



41 



out, as iney are ineapaDie 01 perforating the ostiolar pW the • • vuwul * ' 



without ever gaining exit to the outer world Tho .L ' , rCmai11 im P riiwl *l* wd d 



cnout evw gaining exit io tne outer world. The same thii 



mber of males is extremely reduced and insufficient to aecur^ 1 1 '? ,>P " ,B *** the 

 of exit. If such receptacles be laid open ere the death of the | n °° mp n / ' Uli nel 



cavities presents a most remarkable appearance, the lower part Wn ilk* "< 

 mass of struggling females, who at once begin to fly off in clouds into*. 



the Kiirroun 



of the 



When the females emerge by the normal route, they .onetimes ETHT 

 reaching the externa,! orifice of the tunnel, but they usually remain for a few • 



to it drying their wings, which are often clogged with moisture and 



, anu cleamii t ,f 



UtQi < \tm 



1 



of debris which have adhered to them and to the rest of the surface of the bod! dt l 



outward journey. The amount of adherent debris is alwaj . c l,l "»KllHtt 



licmit. and 



mainly to consist of the amber-coloured dust of the gnawed stamens and oatint.» i 

 doubt pollen grains are also present, as one or two may occasionally bo found 



apjM ;n 

 Bl Xn 



r • i. • li_ - . V. . J WA '" IUI,u »y «o K»unU Mill Iherinff 



to the corpses ot insects m the cavities of freshly-entered receptacles, but the m 1 



always be comparatively small, and is never sufficient to give ri o to any • ,,,. 

 recognisable by the unaided eye or under a simple lens. ni ces 



Very large numbers of the female insects fall immediate victims to the wti am] Illltl 

 which swarm around the mouths of the tunnels, and those who escape soon 

 many large receptacles are emitting simultaneously, a perfect cloud of them" fife "th 



«n. \\ 



rrounding air. The majority of them continue for some time hovering a ut in th 

 ghbourhood of the site of exit, and then, where receptacles suitable for the purpose ti 



vei 



present, they settle down and attempt to gain access to the cavities. They arc bom 

 capable of flying for a considerable distance, for the only female tree of F. Roxburgh 

 the Botanic Garden in Calcutta is situated at a distance of about a quarter of a mile fro 

 the nearest male ones, and yet crops of figs to which female insects have attain. | acceae 

 are constantly present on it. The insects have a certain power of discriminating rec 



tacles which are at the suitable stage for them from those which have either not attaint 

 to or have exceeded it. The distinctive feature would seem to He in some condition of the 

 ostiolar bracts, as insects may often be seen alighting on the surfaces of apparently suit- 

 able receptacles, running eagerly over them up to the ostiolar area, entering its conca vitv 

 and, after scrutinising it, emerging again and flying off in search of another fig. While 

 this is the case, they are at the same time incapable of distinguishing gall from female 



receptacles, and struggle as energetically to enter the latter as the former. When once 

 they have found a suitable one, they at once set about the arduous task of forcing th ir 

 way in through the solid ostiolar plug of closely appressed, overlapping, sticky br?»cts, 

 which in gall-receptacles has a thickness of about 0*3", and in female ones is usuallv some- 



what thicker, measuring in many cases as much as 0*43". The relative sizes of insect and 



ostiolar plug are shown in Plate III, fig 1. 



Where insects are present in abundance, the ostiolar depressions of suitable receptacles 

 frequently become crowded by masses of struggling visitors attempting to force their way 

 lown between the bracts, and casting their wings as they do so. They gradually disapp 



from view, and a certain proportion of them ultimately succeeds in gaining access to the 



ptacular cavity. Large numbers of them, however, never do so, but perish miserabh 

 between the sticky bracts^ where their bodies remain readily recognisable for montU— t v n 

 up to the period of maturation of the receptaeles-as dark brown or black strata sand- 

 wiched between the appressed surfaces of the bracts. The number of insects who e^ ntuaJIj 



Ann. Hoy. Bot. Gard. Calcutta, Vol. I. ArPEN 



