How does the mutualism of figs and wasps exactly work?

Question

I have just rudimentary knowledge about the mutualism of figs and wasps and would like to know how this works step by step. Also how do humans *use* this mutualism? Do they support or hinder it at some points?

Answer 1

Dear Asked,

Generally in the genus Ficus the flowers are pollinated by wasps.

Some species of wasps pollinate several fig species, and some fig species are pollinated by several wasp species. Within the species used as food by humans, some species and some cultivars require pollination by wasps, but some are parthenocarpic (produce fruit without pollination). Couple this with the diverse sexual flower expression (see Wikipedia article for details), and you have quite a botanical circus!

Mutualism: Within the plants requiring wasp pollination, the fig furnishes food and shelter for the wasp larva, and the wasp pollinates the fig; without pollination the fig eventually falls off the tree without making an edible.product.

When the common fig (F. carica) is pollinated by and does host a wasp, the flavor of the fig changes. This is of significance to humans, who prefer that flavor (however, I raise 7 cultivars of figs in New Jersey, and they make fine-flavored fruit without wasps, unless you count the hornets who avidly munch fully ripe figs). Such figs are said to be "caprified", after the type of fig used to host the wasp (it's deliberately raised, but in a different cultivar than is commercially raised to be eaten). Yet, these wasp-raising figs are named "caprifigs". When caprifigs are caprified, the fruit (some of it, anyway) is inedible. Go figure.

You might think that with all this symbiotic turmoil, that fig cultivation must be only recent. However, figs were the first food plants deliberately cultivated, ~11000 years ago. That was a parthenocarpic cultivar, which didn't require wasps.