- Also called:
- fig insect
- Related Topics:
- Fig
- chalcid wasp
- Blastophagus nota
- Blastophagus psenes
fig wasp
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What is a fig wasp?
Fig wasps, from the family Agaonidae, include 900 species that pollinate the world's 900 species of figs. Each tiny wasp species pollinates only one species of fig, and each fig species has its own wasp species to pollinate it.
The life cycle of the fig wasp is typified by the wild, inedible caprifig (Ficus carica sylvestris). The wasps mature from eggs deposited inside the syconium, the fig's flowering structure. The female fig wasp's role in pollinating certain edible figs, especially Smyrna figs (F. carica), is critical to the fig grower, as most economically valuable figs require fertilization to ripen.
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Where do fig wasps live?
Fig wasps of the family Agaonidae are tiny wasps that live in figs and pollinate them. Each of the roughly 900 species of fig requires its own species of fig wasp for pollination, and each wasp species pollinates only one species of fig.
Although most figs are tropical, some fig wasp species can be found in North America. For example, Blastophaga psenes was brought to the western United States to pollinate the Smyrna fig, which is commercially important. B. nota, another species, is originally from the Philippines and pollinates the flowers of F. nota.
The life cycle of the fig wasp is typified by the wild, inedible caprifig (Ficus carica sylvestris). The wasps mature from eggs deposited inside the fig's flowering structure, called the syconium.
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How are fig wasps and fig trees connected?
Fig wasps and fig trees share a unique symbiotic relationship where each species of fig wasp pollinates only one species of fig, and each fig species relies on a specific wasp for pollination. This coevolution is so profound that neither organism can exist without the other.
The female fig wasp lays its eggs inside the syconium, the fig's flowering structure. After the eggs hatch, wingless male wasps mate with the females before they hatch. The impregnated female then gathers pollen and flies off to fertilize another fig, laying her eggs and continuing the cycle. This process is essential for the ripening of many economically valuable figs. Fig trees, in turn, provide a steady supply of fruit that attracts various mammals and birds, making them a critical resource for many animals during food shortages.
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What is the life cycle of a fig wasp?
The life cycle of the fig wasp relies on the structure of the fig, known as the syconium. The wasps lay their eggs inside the syconium's flowering structure. After a wasp egg is deposited in a female flower, a gall-like structure develops instead of a seed. Male wasps, blind and wingless, emerge from these galls and mate with the females still inside. The male often digs an escape tunnel for the female before dying.
The female wasp then leaves to deposit her eggs in another fig, gathering pollen along the way. She flies to another fig to fertilize it and lay her eggs. Many female fig wasps die inside the syconium where they laid their eggs. This pollination system plays a fundamental role in tropical forest ecology, providing a steady supply of fruit for various animals.
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How do fig wasps help pollinate fig trees?
Fig wasps are vital for pollinating fig trees. There are roughly 900 species of tiny wasps that each pollinate only one species of fig, and each fig species has its own wasp species to pollinate it. This coevolution is so intertwined that neither can exist without the other.
The female fig wasp carries pollen that fertilizes the figs, which causes them to ripen. Though she cannot always lay her eggs within edible figs, she carries the pollen to fertilize them. As the female wasp exits the fig, she passes male flowers and becomes covered in pollen, which she then carries to another fig. This remarkable pollination system significantly impacts tropical forest ecology, providing a steady supply of fruit that attracts various animals.
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Why is the relationship between fig wasps and fig trees considered a mutualism?
The relationship between fig wasps and fig trees is considered a classic example of mutualism because both species benefit from the interaction. Fig wasps pollinate fig trees, which is essential for the trees to produce seeds. In return, the fig tree provides a safe environment for the fig wasp to lay its eggs and for the larvae to develop inside the syconium, the fig's flowering structure. This interdependence ensures the survival and reproduction of both the fig tree and the fig wasp.
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fig wasp, (family Agaonidae), any of about 900 species of tiny, solitary wasps responsible for pollinating the worldâs 900 species of figs (see Ficus). Each species of fig wasp pollinates only one species of fig, and each fig species has its own wasp species to pollinate it. This extraordinary diversity of coevolution between figs and wasps has become so profound that neither organism can exist without the other.
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Hymenoptera
- Suborder: Apocrita
- Superfamily: Chalcidoidea
See also list of ants, bees, and wasps.
Natural history and importance
The fig waspâs life cycle is typified in the caprifig (Ficus carica sylvestris), a wild, inedible fig. Wasps mature from eggs deposited inside the flowering structure of the fig, called the syconium, which looks very much like a fruit. Inside the completely enclosed syconium are the tiny, individual flowers themselves. When a wasp egg is deposited in one of the female flowers, that flower develops a gall-like structure instead of a seed. The blind, wingless male wasps emerge from the galls and search out one or more galls containing a female, and upon finding one, he chews a hole in the gall and mates with her before she has even hatched. In many cases, the male then digs an escape tunnel for the female. The male then dies, having spent its entire life within the fig. The impregnated female emerges later from her gall and proceeds toward the escape tunnel or the eye of the fig (the part opposite the stem end), because she must deposit her eggs in a second fig. In departing, she passes by many male flowers and emerges covered with pollen. During her brief adult life (as short as two days), she flies into the forest to fertilize another fig and deposit another generation of fig wasps. Many female fig wasps die inside the syconium in which they laid their eggs.
The female fig waspâs role in pollinating certain edible figs, especially Smyrna figs (F. carica), is critical to the fig grower, as most economically valuable figs require fertilization to ripen. Though she cannot lay her eggs within the edible fig (she must lay them at the base of the pistil, and the pistils of cultivated figs are longer than her ovipositor), she carries with her the pollen that fertilizes the figs and causes them to ripen. Unfertilized females perform the same role in pollination.
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This remarkable pollination system has a fundamental impact on tropical forest ecology, where Ficus species such as banyans and strangler figs are abundant. Given the short adult life span of a fig wasp, there are fig trees receiving and releasing wasps throughout the year. This results in a steady supply of Ficus fruits, providing a rich feast that attracts a host of mammals and birds and making Ficus species a critical resource for many animals during times of food shortage. If the plants were to be cut out of a forest or the fig wasps were to somehow be removed, there would almost certainly be a dramatic reduction in animal life, as is suggested by the lower population densities of fruit-eating mammals on small islands that lack Ficus species.
Major species
Although most figs are tropical, two species of fig wasps are found in North America. The female fig wasp, Blastophaga psenes, about 1.5 mm (0.06 inch) in length, was introduced into the western United States to pollinate the Smyrna fig, a commercially important variety. B. nota, originally found in the Philippines, pollinates the flowers of F. nota.