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After pollination, there are several species of non-pollinating wasps that deposit their eggs before the figs harden. These wasps act as parasites to either the fig or possibly the pollinating wasps. As the fig develops, the wasp eggs hatch and develop into larvae. After going through the pupal stage, the mature male’s first act is to mate ...
You’ve probably heard rumors about figs being filled with small wasps. Without the tiny bugs, the Ficus species, the producer of figs, would go extinct.
The family Agaonidae is a group of pollinating fig wasps. They spend their larval stage inside the fruits of figs. The pollinating wasps (Agaoninae, Kradibiinae, and Tetrapusiinae) are the mutualistic partners of the fig trees. Extinct forms from the Eocene and Miocene are nearly identical to modern forms, suggesting that the niche has been ...
When the female wasps enter the opening of a fig, their wings and antennae detach. [9] Upon dissecting a fig, the wings of the wasps can be seen at the opening of the fig. Additionally, adult wasps, larvae, and eggs are found within the fig. [7] The wasps are free-living and their lifespan spans from a few days to weeks. [4]
In the cultivated fig, there are also asexual mutants. Fig trees either produce hermaphrodite fruit or female figs; only the female figs are palatable to humans. In exchange for a safe place for their eggs and larvae, fig wasps help pollinate the ficus by crawling inside the tiny hole in the apex of the fig, called the ostiole, without knowing ...
The relationship of fig and fig wasp is a classic example of obligate mutualism and coevolution. Only pollinating wasps pollinate the figs, while fig wasps only lay their eggs inside the fig ovules. [5] [6] Jelly fig pollinating W. pumilae are different from Creeping fig pollinating W. pumilae in gene expression. [7]
There are roughly 300 species of solitary wasps in California, she added. Yellowjackets and paper wasps are the two most common social wasp species in Northern California, Kimsey said.
Wingless male fig wasps are the first to emerge, inseminating the emerging females and boring exit tunnels out of the fig for the winged females. Female wasps then exit the fig to collect pollen from the male flowers and search for new figs. F. amplissima flowers asynchronously to support the life cycle of the fig wasp pollinators. The local ...