The Fig Wasp

Pegoscapus is a pollinating wasp of the family Agaonidae, between roughly 1 and 1.8 mm long depending on the species.

The fig tree belongs to the family Moraceae. It is a monoecious species whose inflorescences (a cluster of hermaphrodite flowers) sit inside a fleshy receptacle known as a syconium.

The wasps are drawn in by volatile compounds and enter the inflorescence through the ostiole, the opening of the fig. They usually lose their wings and antennae in the process.

They pollinate the pistillate flowers as they lay their eggs.

As they develop, the larvae feed on the endosperm of the fruit.

The males fertilise the females and then use their mandibles to open a small hole in the wall of the inflorescence, through which the wasps will leave.

The fertilised females that emerge carry pollen to the next fig tree with receptive inflorescences, where the whole cycle begins again.

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