Wasps Emerging from Fig Fruits in Petri Plate (IMAGE)

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Wasps Emerging from Fig Fruits in Petri Plate

Caption

A female wasp squeezes her way into a fig fruit (losing her wings in the process), then, if she is carrying pollen, she pollinates the tiny flowers inside the fruit and lays her eggs in the seeds that form. In this image, you see fig fruits cut in half, and the wasps that come out of the seeds as they hatch.

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STRI

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