this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2026
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Apart from the cultivar part, I don't think that's true. Apparently even Aristotle has spoken about fig wasps (without really understanding what they are or do of course). So maybe there are some cultivars that are self a pollinating now, but it seems like all non-cultivated fig trees are dependent on this kind of pollination. And btw, there aren't a "few" wild species, there are over 850 of them!!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reproductive_coevolution_in_Ficus?wprov=sfla1
I used to have some fig trees, I'd always have to be careful around them as they'd be full of wasps.
Oh, you're thinking of wasps like yellowjackets. "Fig wasp" uses the taxonomic term for wasp. There are hundreds of thousands of parasitic wasp species out there that most people aren't familiar with. Fig wasps are gall wasps and are really tiny! Like so small you can hardly see them by the naked eye. It is fascinating how so small beings can fly distances of many kilometers when they are only a millimeter in size.