Fig-pollinating wasps have provided model systems for developing and testing theories of the evolution of mutualism, sex allocation, and precision of adaptation. With few exceptions, previous studies ...

The fig wasp pollination mutualism is a quintessential example of an obligate ecological interaction, wherein minute pollinator wasps and their Ficus hosts engage in an intricate and enduring ...

A Brazilian researcher describes 129 species of fig tree parasites which compete and even prey upon the fig wasps during the many phases of the fig-wasp mutualism that helped to shape both plant and ...

Removal of an offender's hand, tongue or ear: punishments described in Babylon's Hammurabi Code, depended on the nature of the crime. Published in 1771 B.C., the code set the first formal standards ...

Banyan trees are fig trees that begin their life as an epiphyte. The most noticeable feature of banyan Ficus species is their extraordinary aerial roots, which enable them to live as hemi-epiphytes, ...

The wasp usually struggles to get in, often losing its wings as it goes. Once the wasp breaches the fruit, the U.S. Forest Service describes, “It runs around the interior of the fruit visiting many ...

Constraints and evolution are central for the resolution of conflicts between mutualistic species and for the stability of mutualisms. However, proximal causes of the benevolence of mutualistic ...

Are there really dead wasps in figs? You’ve likely heard the rumors, and it turns out that it’s (sometimes) true. Sure, it sounds kind of gross and a little sad. But when you find out about the whole ...

Researchers from Uppsala University and elsewhere have been studying the effect of rising temperatures on the lifespan of pollinating fig wasps. The findings show that the wasps lived much shorter ...

If you've ever bitten into a fresh fig, you've tasted the delicious result of one of nature's most extraordinary and longstanding partnerships. But the figs in your local grocery store only tell a ...

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts. The Moreton Bay Fig is famous for its size and notorious for its ...