The article about wasps that got me to stop hating them

I used to kill every wasp that got near my backyard. Then I read a study from some university entomology department saying they pollinate way more plants than people realize. Something like 1,000 species of figs depend entirely on wasps. Now I just leave them alone and they pretty much ignore me.

3 comments

3 Comments

the_rowan2d ago

@sandra_moore30 right? The fig-wasp thing made me google all kinds of weird pollination facts too.

corap612d ago

Wait, are you saying figs literally can't exist without wasps?

sandra_moore302d ago

Didn't believe it at first either lol. Read that each fig type has its own special wasp that pollinates it, and the wasp literally can't reproduce without that fig. Saw a video where they showed the wasp squeezing through this tiny hole at the bottom of the fig, losing its wings and antenna in the process. By the time it gets inside, it's basically doing its thing and then dying right there. The fig actually digests the dead wasp for nutrients too. Kinda blew my mind that something so weird is just how figs work.