Originally published at: Are there wasps in your figs? | Boing Boing
…
9 Likes
So they’re not wasps, they’re fig poop. Got it.
11 Likes
Huh. Go figger.
12 Likes
Wasps are not the only insects that you might find, though- I’ve occasionally found caterpillars in dried figs. It’s not eating the insect itself that’s unpleasant then, it’s the mouthful of frass.
8 Likes
And fruit flies. So. Many. Fruit flies. I’ve found that putting the figs in a bowl of water for a few hours gets the bugs out.
5 Likes
she and her wingless male offspring die inside the fig (the female offspring are able to escape, to repeat the process with other fig flowers
Where do the female offspring find a male to mate with?
6 Likes
Adam Ragusea has a good video on this, too.
2 Likes
We shouldn’t be, but because people can be persnickety, “Do you eat figs?” is used as a potentially obnoxious stumper question for vegans.
2 Likes
I like the approach for comfort here. Don’t worry about eating a wasp…you eat SO MANY MORE BUGS! It’s like comforting someone by saying “I’m sorry your goldfish died but the good news is, you’ll be joining it sooner than you realize!” Rip that bug-free bandaid off.
7 Likes
Wikipedia says:
the mature male’s first act is to mate with a female - before the female hatches. Consequently, the female will emerge pregnant.
Insects are not like us.
13 Likes
Thanks to the meddling farmers anyway. Their one-wasp-per-fig rule seems a little shortsighted given this process.
6 Likes
All bugs are ultimately made of stars, so how bad can that be?
10 Likes
Oh, good point! I didn’t even think about more than one female wasp entering each fig.
It’s very heroic, too, though. The males using their brief lives to dig escape tunnels for the ladies.
6 Likes
Do they consort with the bar flies, though?
14 Likes
Who wants wasps consorting with them anyway?
8 Likes
The figs on my tree come off hard and unripe. Except for a few, and the good ones always have a tiny wasp crawling out when I pick them. The unripe ones don’t.
3 Likes
As opposed to being dissolved by my stomach acid?
I guess it’s like asking “are there fish in my tomatoes?” because you composted some dead fish and used it as fertilizer.
6 Likes
My Turkey Browns are self-pollinating, so wasps aren’t a worry. However, the ants love them, as do the small finches and sparrows in the area. Occasionally I find a fig with the tang of formic acid, and extra ants when I pick it to eat. I consider letting the birds eat any figs I can’t easily reach my tithe to the wildlife in the area.
8 Likes
