The leaves of this small Ficus variegata tree growing at Wasai Bedanu in Tutong District Brunei were being heavily attacked by Asota plana tiger moth larvae in December 2017. Asota plana is a common tiger moth found from India to New Guinea and is often associated with Ficus variegata which occupies the same range.
However many leaves of the Ficus variegata tree were left unscathedThis individual Ficus variegata fig was a female tree. From the presence of fig wasps these figs were at the pollination stage when female fig wasps enter through the ostiole and deposit pollen in the female flowers. The black dots at the base of each fig fruit are the bracts that cover the ostiole or hole (present on all fig fruit) that allows pollinating fig wasps one way entrance into the fig. After pollination most female fig wasps die within the fig.
Cross section of the female fig. The yellow dots in this photo are the female stigmas and the white globes are the ovaries of the female flowers. The bracts covering the ostiole (entrance hole for fig wasps) can be seen at the bottom of the fig.Wasai Bedanu is a scenic waterfall surrounded by forest reserves about 45 minutes drive from Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam on the island of Borneo.
