the fig wasp

Editorial illustration depicting the life cycle of a fig wasp for science magazine. Unfortunately not used as the accompanying article never went to print.

Every kind of fig has its own kind of fig wasp and the pair are an incredible example of symbiosis in nature. Figs flower internally, so the only creature capable of spreading their pollen is the fig wasp. The female wasp enters the fig through a small natural hole, losing her wings in the process meaning she will never be able to leave. Exhausted from her journey into the centre of the fruit, she lays hers eggs, then dies. The males hatch first, fertilise the females eggs and then bore tunnels into the sides of the fig. The males have now fulfilled their purpose and will never leave the fig. The females eventually leave and journey to find their own fig.