Click here to watch!
Here’s a little recap of this “random nature fact” video. The relationship between the fig wasp and the fruit it this: who put the fig wasp in the fig?
For their mutual survival, the fig is a home for the wasp and the wasp provides the pollen in order for the fruit to ripen. A tiny female wasp enters the fig and begins laying eggs. The tiny insect has to crawl inside the flower through a small opening. This results in losing its wings and antenna which means she cannot leave the flower and thus dies and decomposes within the growing fruit.
And the male seems to draw the short straw……
After mating, male wasps create a hole in the fig that will allow the female wasps to leave. Mating and hole-digging are the chief duties of the male wasps, and they die after they complete these tasks.
The female wasps still have an important role to fulfill, as they are responsible for creating future generations of fig wasps and pollinating a new fig. They collect some of the pollen from the fig in their pouches or on their bodies after they mate. Once they smell the aroma from a fig ready to be pollinated, they leave and begin a new life cycle in the new fig.
So there you have it. I’m sure you can’t wait to tell your friends about this. And enjoy discussing this particularly with vegetarians and vegans.
I was born in 1965 in Nuremberg, Germany, to a German mother and a Turkish father. Growing up in a blend of two rich cultures gave me a deep appreciation for food, farmers, and the traditions that nourish us—though I didn’t fully realize this until much later in life.
So how did I end up as a health store owner?
Well, life has a funny way of guiding us toward our purpose.
In my early 20s, I worked in export for a well-known sports company in Germany. But I had a dream of living abroad. That dream led me first to Ireland, then to Australia, and eventually back to Ireland—where I’ve made my home ever since.
