Editing Fig wasp (section)

==Life cycle==
[[File:Pleistodontes sp-Female.jpg|thumb|''[[Pleistodontes]]'' sp. female]]
[[File:Ceratosolen capensis op Ficus sur, Jan Celliers Park, a.jpg|thumb|''[[Ceratosolen]]'' species are pollinators of the ''Sycomorus'', ''Sycocarpus'' and ''Neomorphe'' sections of ''[[Ficus]]''.<ref name=zhen>{{cite journal |last1=Zhen |first1=Wen-Quan |last2=Huang |first2=Da-Wei |last3=Xiao |first3=Jin-Hua |last4=Yang |first4=Da-Rong |last5=Zhu |first5=Chao-Dong |last6=Xiao |first6=Hui |title=Ovipositor length of threeApocrypta species: Effect on oviposition behavior and correlation with syconial thickness |journal=Phytoparasitica |date=April 2005 |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=113–120 |doi=10.1007/BF03029967 |bibcode=2005Phyto..33..113Z |s2cid=35479915 |url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/resources/research-curation/projects/chalcidoids/pdf_X/ZhenHuXi2005.pdf |access-date=5 October 2015}}</ref>]]
[[File:Apocrypta guineensis, volw-wyfie op F sur, Manie vd Schijff BT, d.jpg|thumb|Non-pollinating [[parasitoid wasp]]s ''[[Apocrypta]]'' ovipositing on ''[[Ficus sur]]'' in South Africa]]

The [[Biological life cycle|life cycle]] of the fig wasp is closely intertwined with that of the fig tree it inhabits. The wasps that inhabit a particular tree can be divided into two groups; [[pollinate|pollinating]] and non-pollinating. The pollinating wasps are part of an obligate nursery pollination [[mutualism (biology)|mutualism]] with the fig tree, while the non-pollinating wasps feed off the plant without benefiting it. The life cycles of the two groups, however, are similar.<ref name=figwebInteraction2024>van Noort, S. & Rasplus, JY. 2024. [https://www.figweb.org/Interaction/index.htm Interaction of figs and fig wasps]. www.figweb.org (Accessed on 19 Dec 2024)</ref>

Though the lives of individual species differ, a typical pollinating fig wasp life cycle is as follows. At the beginning of the cycle, a mated mature female pollinator wasp enters the immature "fruit" (actually a stem-like structure known as a [[syconium]]) through a small natural opening (the [[ostiole]]) and [[oviposition|deposits]] her eggs in the cavity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nefdt |first=Rory J. C. |last2=Compton |first2=Stephen G. |date=March 1996 |title=Regulation of Seed and Pollinator Production in the Fig-Fig Wasp Mutualism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/5720?origin=crossref |journal=The Journal of Animal Ecology |volume=65 |issue=2 |pages=170 |doi=10.2307/5720}}</ref>

Forcing her way through the ostiole, the mated mature female often loses her wings and most of her [[Antenna (biology)|antennae]]. To facilitate her passage through the ostiole, the underside of the female's head is covered with short spines that provide purchase on the walls of the ostiole.

In depositing her eggs, the female also deposits pollen she picked up from her original host fig. This pollinates some of the female flowers on the inside surface of the fig and allows them to mature. After the female wasp lays her eggs and follows through with pollination, she dies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jousselin |first=Emmanuelle |last2=Hossaert-McKey |first2=Martine |last3=Herre |first3=Edward Allen |last4=Kjellberg |first4=Finn |date=February 2003 |title=Why do fig wasps actively pollinate monoecious figs? |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00442-002-1116-0 |journal=Oecologia |language=en |volume=134 |issue=3 |pages=381–387 |doi=10.1007/s00442-002-1116-0 |issn=0029-8549}}</ref>

After pollination, there are several species of non-pollinating wasps that deposit their eggs before the figs harden. These wasps act as parasites to either the fig or possibly the pollinating wasps.

As the fig develops, the wasp eggs hatch and develop into [[larva]]e. After going through the pupal stage, the mature male’s first act is to mate with a female - before the female hatches. Consequently, the female will emerge pregnant. The males of many species lack wings and cannot survive outside the fig for a sustained period of time. After mating, a male wasp begins to dig out of the fig, creating a tunnel through which the females escape.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jousselin |first=Emmanuelle |last2=Rasplus |first2=Jean-Yves |last3=Kjellberg |first3=Finn |date=2003 |title=Convergence and Coevolution in a Mutualism: Evidence From a Molecular Phylogeny of Ficus |url=https://doi.org/10.1554/02-445 |journal=Evolution |volume=57 |issue=6 |pages=1255 |doi=10.1554/02-445 |issn=0014-3820}}</ref>

Once out of the fig, the male wasps quickly die. The females find their way out, picking up pollen as they do. They then fly to another tree of the same species, where they deposit their eggs and allow the cycle to begin again.