How Wasps Pollinate Figs
WouterFigs and wasps are an intricately coordinated partnership. Figs are a sweet edible fruit, often sold in jams, and used as a base for desserts. However, many figs are not pollinated by wasps. Instead, the reproductive parts of fig trees are enclosed within the fruit.
The fig flower is a complicated flower head, similar to a dandelion flower. There is an outer body that looks like a white pin cushion. The inner body contains a crunchy texture that consists of seeds. The fig tree has more than 750 species. Each species has a specific wasp species.
A female fig wasp pollinates a female fig, while a male wasp pollinates a male fig. Female wasps lay eggs on the base of the pistil of a female fig. These eggs are dropped inside the fig ovules. After the female wasp dies, the eggs are fertilized by a male wasp. The fig wasps then fly to another fig tree and fertilize it.
The fig/wasp relationship has been a subject of much study. One of the most important features of the fig/wasp coevolutionary history is the role of hybridization. Hybridization enables pollinators to switch hosts between species and distantly related hosts. Depending on the species of fig and wasp, this can lead to rapid feedbacks between hosts and pollinators.
The pollination process involves female fig wasps carrying pollen to the internal flowers of a fig. The male wasps are blind and cannot see the flowers. The female fig wasps collect pollen from the home fig and then deposit it in a second fig.
