Fig Wasps

insects · symbiosis · figs

Pollinator partners. Some fig wasps are pollinators that help fig trees make fruit. When they lay eggs inside a fig flower, they also spread pollen around, which is exactly what the fig tree needs to reproduce.

Living inside figs. Fig wasps spend their entire larval stage (childhood) growing up inside the fig fruit itself. The fig provides food and shelter while the baby wasp develops.

Tiny gall-makers. Pollinating fig wasps create special bumps called galls inside the fig where they lay their eggs. These galls give the wasp babies a safe place to grow.

Parasitic cousins. Other fig wasps don't pollinate at all. Instead, they sneak into figs and either make their own galls or steal galls from pollinating wasps, eating the plant without helping it.

Nature's deal. The pollinating fig wasps help the tree, while parasitic fig wasps hurt it. This means some fig wasps are friends to the tree and others are thieves.