Agaonidae

Guides

• Blastophaga

  fig wasps

  Blastophaga is a genus of minute wasps in the family Agaonidae that engage in obligate mutualism with Ficus fig trees, a coevolutionary relationship spanning at least 80 million years. Female wasps enter receptive figs (syconia) through specialized ostioles to lay eggs in flowers and transport pollen, enabling fig reproduction. The genus exhibits varying degrees of host specificity, with some species showing strict fidelity to particular Ficus species while others demonstrate host sharing across multiple varieties. Notable species include Blastophaga psenes, the exclusive pollinator of the common fig (Ficus carica), and Blastophaga javana, associated with Ficus hirta.

  pollinationmutualismFicusAgaonidaecoevolutiontropical-ecologyallergenhorticulture

• Pegoscapus

  Pegoscapus is a genus of pollinating fig wasps in the family Agaonidae, native to the Americas from Florida and Mexico to Argentina. The genus exhibits an obligate mutualism with fig trees of the genus Ficus, specifically pollinating species in section Americana of subgenus Urostigma. Females are winged and larger with longer antennae, while males are wingless with reduced eyes and shorter antennae. The genus is estimated to be over 20 million years old based on fossil evidence from Dominican amber.

  fig-wasppollinatormutualismHymenopteraAgaonidaeNeotropicalFicusobligate-mutualismcryptic-specieslocal-mate-competitionhaplodiploidysex-ratio-bias

• Pleistodontes

  A genus of fig wasps (Agaonidae) native to Australia and New Guinea, with one species (P. claviger) from Java. Species in this genus are pollinators of Ficus section Malvanthera within subgenus Urostigma. The genus contains approximately 25 described species, with taxonomic revision work indicating some species boundaries remain under investigation.

  fig-wasppollinatormutualismintroduced-speciesAustraliaFicusAgaonidae