Since figs are technically the flowers of a fig plant and not its fruit, these flowers need to be pollinated so that the plant can make more figs. But, as you can imagine, it's next to impossible to pollinate the fig's internal flowers. Only one small but important visitor, the fig wasp, has ever done this successfully. This tiny insect, which is about the size of a mosquito, spends its whole life pollinating figs. In return, each fig gives it a safe place to hatch and raise its young. Fig wasps and fig plants have a very interesting relationship. Because the relationship is so complicated, it can be hard to tell who started it and who is getting the better deal. Almost all of the more than 850 types of fig plants have their species of fig wasp that has evolved to work best with that type of black mission figs . (Some wasp species have evolved to be generalists, so they can pollinate more than one type of fig plant.) These amazingly well-timed relationships didn't happen overnight. The relationship between figs and wasps is very old. Its roots go back as far as 90 million years (35 million years before the mass extinction of the dinosaurs). Before the lucky meeting between the plant and the wasp, it's thought that the flowers on fig plants quietly turned inward, making the flower caves we see today. This big change changed the history of both organisms. For the fig plant, it meant that it had to become the most monogamous kind of plant. No other animal, like bees, birds, bats, or even the wind, could help the plant make more seeds. By closing off from the outside world, these flowers started what would become one of nature's longest-lasting and most mutually beneficial relationships.
Are all figs pollinated by wasps
The relationship between figs and fig wasps is important to both their survival. The fig gives the wasp a place to live, and the wasp gives the fruit the pollen it needs to ripen. When a tiny female wasp goes into a fig and starts laying eggs inside it, the insect's life cycle begins. Figs have tiny flowers that need to be pollinated so that the fruit can grow. When they are ready to be pollinated, they give off a strong smell that attracts a female wasp called the fig's queen wasp. Once she smells the scent, she flies to the fig from where she is living in another fig and wiggles into a very small opening at one end of the fruit. The hole is so small that parts of her wings and antennae break off as she goes through it. The wasp will never leave, so she will never have to use her wings again. The female starts laying eggs right away in the flowers inside the fig, and she also spreads the pollen that the fig needs to get ripe. The pollen comes from the fig tree, which was her home before. The flowers that have wasp eggs in them won't grow up. The wasp pollinates the whole fig and dried figs , not just the flowers where she lays her eggs, so the flowers that don't have eggs will still grow. The female wasp's only goal in life is to lay eggs, and when she's done, she dies. The Ecological Society of America says that the fig eats the queen's body and gets food from it.
Fig pollination without wasps
Mutualisms are very important for the environment, but it could break down if one partner stops paying for the costs but keeps getting the benefits. To stop this kind of cheating, many mutualisms have "host sanctions" that hurt the fitness of symbionts that don't cooperate. In mutualisms where the two partners are from different species, we would expect the levels of host sanctions and partner cooperation to have changed at the same time in different species pairs. In the relationship between fig trees and the fig wasps that pollinate them, the host's sanctions vary a lot in strength, and so do the wasps' levels of cooperation. Here, I use experiments to show that wasps that don't pollinate Panamanian Ficus perforata (section Urostigma, Americana) are less fit than those that do. These fitness costs are caused by figs that don't get pollinated and the fact that fewer wasp larvae make it to adulthood. When compared to wasps that do pollinate, wasps that don't pollinate are 0.59 times less fit, so the intermediate sanction strength is 0.41. Next, I looked at F. perforata pollinators and found that only 1.9% of wasps in natural populations did not carry pollen. Five actively pollinated Neotropical figs and sundried figs species and their pollinators were studied. Fig species with stronger host sanctions had fewer wasps that didn't work with them, which makes sense if sanctions make people work together.
Self-pollinating figs
Fig trees can't make their pollen. In the wild, figs grow in pairs, which is why they do best in places where flowers bloom at different times of the year. If you plant two fig trees at the same time, when one tree starts to bloom, so does the other. You can also pollinate fig trees with a paintbrush. Just set it up at the same height as pollinating insects and move it across both trees. The fig tree is a perennial tree that stays green all year. It can produce fruits that can be eaten. When you pollinate your fig tree, keep in mind that all plants need to be pollinated to grow. This article tells you how to pollinate your garden fig trees so you can get fruit from them. All fig trees can self-pollinate as long as they have a pollinator that is compatible with them. The wind brings both the pollen and the seeds.
For fig trees to make fruit, they need to be pollinated in two ways: by the wind and by other plants. Cross-pollination changes the hermaphroditic flowers of one tree into regular female flowers, which is very important for making fruit. If you want fruit from your figs after cross-pollinating them, you will need to find insects that pollinate them. The Hab Hab tree, also called the white fig tree, is a member of the mulberry family. It grows figs, which are fruits that can be eaten. The Hab Hab does well in tropical climates, but with the right care, it can also grow in temperate climates. The Hab Hab plant is not easy to grow because it needs to be pollinated by a fig tree to make fruit. Fig trees do not make their pollen. Fig trees can't make fruit if they aren't pollinated. Both male and female plants must be in the same area for figs to grow. If you only have one, it won't make fruit unless you help it by pollinating it by hand. This article will show you how to make sure that your fig trees, whether they are inside or outside, are pollinated properly. 
Brown turkey fig pollination
The Brown Turkey Fig tree is known for its sweet, medium-sized fruit that turns a brownish-red color when it's ready. This type of fig is known for being a good all-around fig that tastes good and keeps well. This makes it one of the most popular fig trees and dried fig leaves for home gardeners. This plant will look great on your patio, and it will also give you fresh figs. Enjoy the pretty, flat, lobed leaves and green fruit that turns dark when it's ready. This fig can be grown in cooler hardiness zones if it is planted in a container and brought inside during the winter. Most fig trees, like the ficus carica, don't need much care. In places with long, warm growing seasons, the Brown Turkey Fig can give rise to two different crops. It can self-pollinate and stand up to heat. When the temperature drops below 10°F, wrap the tree in burlap to protect it. Brown Turkey fig trees need full sun, so pick a spot in your yard that gets direct sunlight. These trees can grow in almost any kind of soil, including heavy clay, limestone, and light sand, but they do best in soil that drains well and has a lot of lime in it. Note: These fast-growing trees can handle slightly salty soil, but not acidic soil, so make sure the pH is between 6.0 and 6.5. Fig trees don't need to be fertilized regularly. However, if your tree grows less than 12 inches in one growing season, you can add a half-pound of nitrogen supplement to the tree's base. Split this up into three or four feedings from late winter to midsummer. You can also put a two- or three-inch layer of mulch around the tree at any time to keep weeds away and keep the moisture in the soil around the roots. Make sure the mulch doesn't touch the trunk. Too much moisture around the trunk can cause the bark to rot, which can attract pests and fungi. 
Fig wasp life cycle
fig wasp, (family Agaonidae), also called fig insect, is any of about 900 species of tiny wasps that pollinate the world's 900 species of figs (see Ficus). Each kind of wasp only pollinates one kind of fig, and each kind of fig needs a different kind of wasp to pollinate it. Because figs and wasps have coevolved so much, they have become so different that neither could live without the other. The life cycle of the fig wasp is shown by the caprifig (Ficus carica sylvestris), which is a wild, poisonous fig. Wasps grow up from eggs that are put in the fig's syconium, which looks a lot like fruit and is where the flowers grow. Inside the syconium, which is completely closed, are the individual flowers. When a wasp lays an egg in a flower, that flower grows a structure that looks like a gall instead of a seed. The blind, wingless male wasps emerge from the galls and search out one or more galls containing a female, and upon finding one, he chews a hole in the gall and mates with her before she has even hatched. Most of the time, the male then digs a tunnel for the female to get away. After that, the male dies, having lived its whole life inside the fig. The female comes out of her gall later and heads toward the escape tunnel or the eye of the organic dried fig (the part opposite the stem end) because she needs to lay her eggs in a second fig. As she leaves, she walks past a lot of male flowers and comes out covered in pollen. During her short adult life, which can be as short as two days, she flies into the forest to fertilize another fig and lay another generation of fig wasps.
Are figs vegan
Figs are a plant-based food, but some people don't think of them as vegan, even though they are plant-based food. These people say that the way figs grow and change before they are fully grown doesn't fit with vegan beliefs. Figs begin as a closed, upside-down flower. Because of the way their flowers are shaped, they can't use bees or the wind to spread their pollen as other flowers can. Instead, figs need the help of pollinator wasps to make more of their kind (3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source). When a female wasp is getting close to the end of her life, she will crawl through the tiny hole in an upside-down fig flower to lay her eggs. In the process, she will lose her antennae and wings, and she will die soon after (5Trusted Source). Then, an enzyme inside the fig eats her body while her eggs get ready to hatch. Once they do, male and female larvae mate. The female larvae crawl out of the fig with pollen on their bodies to continue the life cycle of both species (5Trusted Source). Some people say that figs shouldn't be considered vegan because they come from the dead body of a wasp. 
Still, figs and dried fig jam need wasps to reproduce just as much as wasps need figs to do the same. Both species can live because of how well they work together. Most people, including vegans, don't see this as animal abuse or exploitation, so they consider figs to be vegan.
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