The question of whether a fig contains a wasp inside is a common one, sparking curiosity about this unique fruit. The relationship between figs and fig wasps is a fascinating example of coevolution, where two species have evolved together, each depending on the other for survival. This intricate partnership explains the common question about figs.
The Fig’s Unique Pollination Strategy
What we commonly refer to as a fig fruit is not a true fruit in the botanical sense but an inverted flower cluster called a syconium. This fleshy structure encloses hundreds of tiny individual flowers within its walls. These flowers are hidden inside, making them inaccessible to typical pollinators like bees or wind.
The fig’s design necessitates a highly specialized pollinator to access these internal flowers. A small opening at the apex of the fig, known as the ostiole, serves as the sole entry point to the enclosed floral chamber. Only a specific pollinator, adapted to navigate this narrow passage, can facilitate the fig’s reproduction.
The Fig Wasp’s Intricate Role
A mated female fig wasp, carrying pollen from a fig where she was born, enters a receptive fig through the narrow ostiole. This passage is so tight that she often loses her wings and parts of her antennae in the process, making it a one-way journey.
Once inside, the female wasp crawls among the fig’s internal flowers, depositing her eggs in some of the short-styled female flowers, which then develop into gall-like structures. As she moves, she inadvertently transfers pollen to the long-styled female flowers, enabling their fertilization and subsequent seed development. After laying her eggs, the female wasp dies within the fig.
The eggs hatch into larvae, which develop within the gall flowers. Wingless male wasps emerge first, locate and mate with the female wasps while still inside their galls, then chew escape tunnels through the fig wall for the newly fertilized females before dying inside the fig.
The Fate of the Wasp Inside the Fig
After the female fig wasp completes her mission of pollination and egg-laying, she dies within the fig. The fig, in turn, produces an enzyme called ficin. This enzyme is highly effective at breaking down proteins.
The ficin enzyme systematically digests the deceased wasp’s body. This process ensures that by the time the fig ripens and becomes edible, there is no intact wasp remaining. The wasp’s decomposed body becomes part of the fig’s developing flesh.
Common Figs and Their Wasp-Free Nature
While the unique fig-wasp mutualism is a natural phenomenon for many fig species, most commercially grown figs consumed by humans do not require wasp pollination. Many popular varieties, such as Black Mission, Brown Turkey, Kadota, and Celeste, are parthenocarpic.
Parthenocarpy means these figs can develop and ripen fruit without the need for fertilization or pollination. As a result, these common varieties do not rely on fig wasps for their development and therefore do not contain wasp remains. This distinction reassures consumers that the figs they purchase from grocery stores are free of any insect parts.