Fresh figs are irresistible from late summer through early fall, when trees droop from the weight of these luscious, caramelly fruits. Nothing stands between fig lovers and this bounty, except … wasps ...

Are there really dead wasps in figs? You’ve likely heard the rumors, and it turns out that it’s (sometimes) true. Sure, it sounds kind of gross and a little sad. But when you find out about the whole ...

If you love figs, you may have heard some unsettling lore about them: that every fig hides a wasp, because these insects need to crawl inside and die in order for the fruit to grow. But are there ...

Depicted here are some of the many varieties of figs that do not have the specialized pollination needs of Smyrna figs, so can be grown over a much wider range. From left, top row, are Celeste, San ...

My barely heated greenhouse kept me in fresh figs well into fall, but decreased light and increased cold have made those juicy, ambrosial fruits a mere memory. Now I go to the store and purchase dried ...

The larvae of pollinating wasps in the inner flowers of figs are safe from parasitic wasps. Parasites may contribute to stability in the fig-pollinator mutualism because outer flowers avoided by ...

ITHACA, N.Y. – Figs and fig wasps have evolved to help each other out: Fig wasps lay their eggs inside the fruit where the wasp larvae can safely develop, and in return, the wasps pollinate the figs.

(Beyond Pesticides, March 1, 2017) The Fig wasp is the pollinator of the month for March. A highly evolved pollinator crucial to the life cycle of the fig tree, the fig wasp is part of the chalcidoid ...

It’s winter, and plants no longer clamor for attention, so let’s focus on the crunchiness of dried figs. It comes from seeds, which I would never find in my own figs’ fruits. Botanically speaking, ...