Agaid
Guides
Blastophaga psenes
Common Fig Wasp
Blastophaga psenes is a minute chalcidoid wasp, approximately 2 mm in length, and the obligate pollinator of Ficus carica (common fig) and Ficus palmata. Females are winged, black, and shiny; males are smaller, wingless, and do not disperse from the fig. The species exhibits extreme sexual dimorphism and a highly specialized mutualistic relationship with its host figs. Adults live only a few days to weeks, breeding exclusively within fig syconia without constructing nests or colonies. The species is native to the Palaearctic region and has been introduced globally to support commercial fig cultivation.