Figs are trees with a special characteristic, as some species need small wasps for pollination, that in turn enter the fruit to lay their eggs in it. But the wasps cannot place their offspring into this special fruit – so there are no wasp eggs in your figs.
You won’t find wasps in your fig either, because the wasp is completely broken down by certain enzymes. The whole process is complex and, above all, curious. And of course, there are exceptions and tricks that ensure that a dead wasp does not end up in every fig. What exactly these wasps do and what that means for our figs, we discuss here.
How does a fig develop?
There are many different types of figs, of which the common fig is the most popular in our supermarket. What is sold there is not a fruit at all, but an inwardly turned flower.
As with (almost) every plant, this flower (female) must also be pollinated with pollen (male) in order to develop and form new trees. Most fig trees have a specific gender, so they only produce male or female flowers.
The flowers are pollinated by small wasps (that look more like flying ants and have nothing to do with yellowjackets), which have to lay their own eggs in the male fruits.
How does a fig wasp live?
This is also where the fig wasp’s life cycle begins. First, the blind, wingless males hatch and mate with the young females immediately. After that happens, they dig a way out and die. This access improves the oxygen supply and thus promotes growth.
The females first develop into an adult within the fig before exiting the male fig through the small opening (ostiole) on the wide underside. When they squeeze through the ostiole, they take in numerous pollen, covering their bodies.
Afterwards they start searching a new male fig to lay their own eggs.
How do wasps get into figs?
The fig wasps, however, cannot distinguish the fig sexes and are attracted to all figs they find. Once more, they use the ostiole to enter the fig.
If this is a male fig, the wasp will lay its eggs again. If the wasp encounters a female fig, this means her death. The entrance is much narrower, causing it to lose its wings.
Inside, she cannot lay her eggs and dies. However, the pollen on the wasp body ensures that the female fig is fertilized and can develop.
This is especially helpful for the common fig, which can only be female. A fig wasp loaded with pollen (from other fig species) that penetrates the flowers of the common fig fertilizes them and ensures their survival.
That’s why figs and fig wasps have a close relationship that goes beyond a symbiosis, as they (with this type of reproduction) are inevitably dependent on their counterpart in order to reproduce.
Wasps in the fig: what happens to them?
A wasp that is trapped in a fig will be digested by an enzyme (ficin) in the flower. Nothing remains of the wasp and only freshly invaded insects can still be identified. The whole decomposition process takes about 2 weeks.
However, a fig does not depend on the wasp as a source of food, even if it uses its dead body. Her primary concern is pollination.
Fig wasps: habitat
The small fig wasps are native in regions where the figs are also native. The trees need a warm and mild winter climate in order to grow and mature optimally.
These conditions are found in Europe in the Mediterranean region and fig wasps are widespread there.
The fig wasps rarely come into contact with humans and actually have no influence on us.
Fig wasps: life cycle
The life cycle of the fig wasp is closely linked to the development of the fig and only lasts a few days to weeks.
The blind and wingless males have a particularly short life expectancy because they only live within the fig for a few days and quickly die off again after the females have been fertilized.
The female fig wasps develop in the fig. Finally, leave it and quickly look for a new target crop. There, her short life ends after a few days.
The fig wasps survive the winter with constant activity, which is, however, significantly reduced. The cycles lengthen and there are fewer wasps. Only in spring and summer does the population rise again.
Is there a dead wasp in every fig?
The figs that we know as tasty “fruit” are mostly common figs. Their fruits will only develop sufficiently if they have also been pollinated. A fruit that is not pollinated remains unripe and is not edible. That is why there is always a dead wasp in a fig.
Exceptions to this are other fig species that combine both sexes and do not need fig wasps to pollinate the flowers.
In addition, there are various tricks of the food industry that have managed to fool the fig trees into pollination. For this purpose, the plants are treated with hormones, making the complex (and yield-inhibiting) natural variant superfluous.
Are figs vegan?
Vegan foods do not come from animals and are purely plant-based. This prevents animals from being used for food production. Carnivorous plants are usually considered vegan, as the ingestion of insects does not involve any human intervention.
Of course, this is just one of many possible ways of looking at things and the vegan diet is a special kind that everyone has to define for themselves.
In my opinion, figs are clearly vegan.
