On the Pollination Ecology of Ficus Sycomorus in East Africa

Abstract
Pollination and seed setting in ficus sycomorus have been investigated in East Africa. Ficus sycomorus is monoecious, each fig bearing both male and female flowers. Inside the figs 6 sycophilous wasps develop: Ceratosolen arabicus, Ceratosolen galili and sycophaga sycomori (primary sycophiles), and Apocrypta sp., Eukoebelea sp. and Sycoryctes sp. (secondary sycophiles). The structure and behavior of these wasps and their bearing on pollination and seed productionare studied. Ceratosolen arabiacus is the legitimate pollinator of Ficus sycomorus. It oviposits chiefly into short—styled female flowers, thus ensuring seed setting in the long—styled ones. It is a mutualistic symbiont of the fig. Sycophaga sycomori oviposits into both short— and long—styled flowers, and does not cause seed setting. It is a competitor of Ceratosolen, but a parasite of the fig. Eukoebelea, Apocrypta and Sycoryctes are inquilines, making use of galls induced by the activity of the primary sycophiles. They do not interfere with seed production in pollinated flowers not occupied by Ceratosolen or Sycophaga.