Fertile friends: wasp and fig

A wonderful example of symbiosis, unique to Iguazú, is that of the Guapoy (Ficus monkii) a parasitic variety of fig and a wasp…

A wonderful example of symbiosis, unique to Iguazú, is that of the Guapoy (Ficus monkii) a parasitic variety of fig and a wasp species (genus Blastophaga).

The guapoy is pollinated solely by the action of this wasp and the wasp reproduces exclusively by means of the guapoy, demonstrating the amazing permutations of evolution. The female wasp, attracted by chemical messengers released into the air, enters the guapoy's fig-like fruit through a small opening. The entry injures the wasp, causing her to lose her wings. Before she dies, she lays her eggs within the fruit and the pollen she is carrying is absorbed into the fruit, ensuring its fertilisation. When the larvae are fully grown, the male wasps mate with the females and then die.

The fertilised females leave the fruit, loaded in turn with pollen. Within a few days the wasp enters another fruit to lay her eggs and ensure the continuity of the life cycles of both the plant and the wasp, which cannot reproduce by any other means.

The fragile web of dependency is even larger when one starts to think about all the birds and animals that depend on the creeper's fruit for food. Thus, removing one plant or tree means removing a life source for many creatures.