Nicely written article and review...
Didn't know that, " those species of fig trees that rely on wasps for pollination will likely contain bits of wasps in the fruit. "
that is just not nice!!! i live in fig wasp country. i found a caprifig and was thinking about getting some cuttings.
you are making me have second thoughts.
It's no different than eating dried imported figs. Or truthfully, no different then eating any factory processed foods! There is an allowance for insect and rodent hair, excrement and body parts, you've been eating it your whole life.
Insects ars very good for you and a huge part of human diets in most of the world.
The female wasp cannot lay eggs in edible figs, only caprifigs. She still enters small fig embryos though and tries, spreading pollen in the process. The seeds become fertilized and more nutritious. The female (or maybe females) die inside and are digested by enzymes over many weeks before the figs ripen.
The other species of fig mentioned in the article that both ripen edible figs and host wasps have only one gender instead of 2 like the common fig.
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