Co-Evolution of Figs and Their Insect Pollinators

Abstract

For the pollination of their flowers, figs (Ficus spp., Moraceae) are dependent upon Hymenoptera Chalcidoidea of the family Agaonidae (fig wasps). For the propagation of their kind, the fig wasps are dependent upon the ovaries of the figs, in which their larvae develop. Thus, the figs and fig wasps are interdependent; generally, their relation is strictly specific-i.e. every species of fig has its own species of pollinator wasp (21, 25, 28). For historical data on the development of our knowledge of fig-wasp relations and for a supplement to an earlier bibliography (17), general reference is made to my short history of fig wasp research (30), in which the literature on figs and fig wasps was reviewed.