Do Figs Need Wasps to Pollinate Them?

Figs, like all other fruits, require insects to produce fruit. In fact, the survival of a fig fruit depends on a small insect, called the wasp, which crawls inside the fruit. However, not all figs need wasps to pollinate them.

There are two species of fig wasps that live in North America. They are Blastophaga nota and Blastophaga psenes. Both are part of a superfamily called Chalcidoidea. They have developed long ovipositors to get into figs. These fig wasps are parasitic.

The life cycle of these wasps is a little different for each species. However, the general process is the same. The female wasp lays eggs inside the fig, which are then deposited in the syconium, a gall-like structure inside the fruit. It can take a few weeks for the fig to mature. In the meantime, the female wasp carries pollen to the next fig.

After a few weeks, the fig grubs develop from the seeds. They have no wings and are smaller than the female wasp. The male wasp mates with the female. He emerges from the galls, which he chews to get out. The male wasps then die. The female wasp will then lay eggs inside the next fig. This cycle repeats itself.

Once a female wasp lays eggs in a fig, it is then able to pollinate that fig. After a while, she will die inside the fig. The fig will then be covered in pollen, which allows all the seeds to grow.

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