If you’re a fan of figs, you might have heard some concerning tales about them—like that each fig contains a wasp, which, I guess, has to crawl inside and die for the fruit to fully develop. So, is there any truth to this, or is it just a story?
The actual situation is pretty nuanced. Wasps do play an important role in the life cycle of many fig species, but most figs that you find in the grocery store are likely free of any insects.
Fig wasps are part of a large group of small insects that mostly live inside figs. They’re about the size of a fruit fly and aren’t the kind that sting humans. Figs and fig wasps have evolved together for millions of years, creating a unique relationship called mutualism, where both species benefit from one another.
“Fig trees and fig wasps are a great example of mutualism,” noted Charlotte Jandér, a plant ecology and evolution researcher at Uppsala University in Sweden. She points out that there are other examples like trees and the mycorrhizal fungi that help them absorb nutrients, as well as flowering plants and their pollinators.
In simple terms, when a female fig wasp enters a fig—specifically the part we refer to as the “fruit,” which is actually a hollow structure filled with flowers—she spreads pollen, enabling the fig to produce seeds and mature. However, the entrance is quite small, and in the process, the wasp might lose her wings and even die inside the fig.
This means it’s conceivable that certain figs could contain deceased fig wasps.
But here’s the catch: not all fig varieties require pollination to ripen. The figs most commonly consumed by humans, like Ficus carica, have varieties that can develop into ripe fruit without the need for pollination—so no wasps involved.
“Most figs we eat in the US don’t have wasps in them,” said Carlos Machado, a biology professor at the University of Maryland.
Some popular varieties like Mission figs and Brown Turkey figs don’t require wasp pollination to mature and create seeds, says Jandér. Yet, this doesn’t apply universally; types like Smyrna figs and Calimyrna figs depend on wasps for pollination.
As Machado explained, “Most wild figs do require pollination to produce ripe fruit.” So, while these varieties might have a wasp inside them, that’s still not a sure thing.
Just because a wasp might have entered a fig at some point doesn’t mean it’s still there by the time we eat it. The openings in Ficus carcia can allow the fig wasp to escape after entering, and if the wasp happens to die inside, it typically decomposes and becomes part of the maturing fig, Jandér pointed out.
“Even if remnants of the original pollinator were present, you probably wouldn’t notice them,” Jandér explained. Any crunchiness you might experience is more likely from the seeds rather than wasp bits.
The fig wasp life cycle
While wasps can sometimes die within figs, these fruits are crucial for their reproductive cycle. Just as many fig types need wasp pollination for new fruit, fig wasps can’t reproduce without fig trees.
A female wasp enters a fig from a female tree to pollinate it but can’t lay her eggs there because the flowers are too deep. If she ventures into a male fig, or caprifig, she can lay her eggs instead.
Once inside, the eggs develop into larvae that become young wasps, which mate while still in the fruit. Generally, male wasps die in the caprifig after mating, but their efforts help carve a tunnel so that female wasps can escape—sometimes they even act as bait for ants outside. Ultimately, the fertilized females exit in search of new figs to lay their eggs, carrying pollen from the caprifig with them.
There are over 850 fig tree species, and each one can only be pollinated by a specific type of fig wasp, Jandér mentions. The relationship is long-standing and crucial for both parties. Researchers find this mutualism especially riveting as fig trees are considered keystone species—organisms that other plants and animals depend on.
“While there are various plant-pollinator mutualisms in nature, the fig-fig wasp association is possibly the most diverse and impactful,” Machado states.
