Over the years I have had many fig seedlings sprout all around. I’ve given some to friends that have actually fruited and were supposedly good. There are generally more seedlings around my fig trees, or where ever I used my compost (the bins were under the fig trees, rotten figs directly fall into them). Nowadays they are proliferating more rapidly as my fig trees mature.
Now, does this mean that I have the fig wasp? I’ve seen plenty of fruit flies on the figs, which given the open eyes on could very well be pollinated by them? I am no stranger to the occasional overripe fig with maggots which means something laid eggs in them for sure…
Only the fig wasp pollinates figs, by the time fruit flies are interested in them they are way past “flowering”, which is when they are smaller than a dime. It does sound like wasps are finding their way to your trees, there must be a caprifig in the area. If you want more reliable pollination you could find it and grab a few near ripe profichi to hang in your tree, or even graft a branch of 2 onto your tree in case that caprifig gets cut down.
That’s quite interesting. I didn’t know pollination happened that early. I’m not surprised about the caprifig’s, I see volunteer figs everywhere around here. Thanks! @hoosierbanana
Are you near LA? Just curious because you mentioned fruit flies, the African Fig Fly is confirmed in LA, it could have a huge impact on the dried fig industry. They have been here for years already, usually don’t show up until late September, and can be managed fairly well by not allowing any dropped fruit in the orchard.
I’m in Los Gatos, (bordering West San Jose), by the apricot railroad tracks. Even some of the restaurants around here have left over fig orchards, among other fruits. For the knowing patrons, it’s a free dessert.
Just what we need, another new pest to track. I’ll put some sticky traps and see if I can identify any.
I remember another member in your area talking about the fig wasp. You are lucky to have them, they can make an ok fig great and you can grow some very good varieties that require the fig to keep their fruit.
@Ruben I have grown cuttings from santa clara scion exchanges over the years, my now “trees” were cuttings going back to 2011. The earliest seedlings I can remember probably were about the same time. Can’t say for sure which came first.
Since then I have a motley crew of figs from all around, including a cutting from the mother fig @ padua mission I collected myself.
I ordered and ruined a bunch of Harvey’s cuttings trying to root in coconut coir this year Not to mention the i-358 from prusch that I selected after taste testing at the park last season. I digress…
Are you suggesting the fig wasp could have come with the cuttings?
That’s what I’m guessing what’s happening that you have rooted cuttings that some how the wasps ware on those cuttings and that might be the possibility that those little wasps might have hung around with out you noticed them.
For the past couple years I have gotten cuttings from California where they have the fig wasp and while rooting the cuttings I have found Fig Wasps flying around inside my house, the first year that I rooted my first fig cuttings I saw them flying around but I thought they ware fungus gnats getting bigger so I kill them and when I finally find out what they ware I feel so bad about it. But the question is how they hatch? Where in the cuttings ware the eggs?
Here is couple pics of the ones I kill the first year and One of the ones from this year.
The fig wasp is pretty tiny and I do not think that they have a very long life span. In addition their eggs are in the figs themselves. I rather doubt that what you’ve seen is the wasp. But anything is possible…
Yes they are really tiny, I had to use a magnifying glass so I could take those pics with my cellphone.
In addition their eggs are in the figs themselves.
That’s what we know about it and logically that’s where they are but we might don’t know enough about them. I showed pics to people in California that they have the fig wasp and they confirmed that’s what I had. But you right about they life span, they don’t live too long if they don’t have figs to follow the circle of life for them. This year I gather the ones I could and took them to my greenhouse where I have my figs but I doubt they made it.
Hi Ruben, identifying insects that are so small is really tough, there could be hundreds of wasp species that are that size and look similar, but the spots on the wings make me think they are a species of Cotesia.
At least one species was introduced here and is a parasite of cabbage moths, so taking them outside is probably a good thing anyway. I can’t find an exact match, but fig wasps don’t have those spots in any case.
The fig wasp can only reproduce in male figs, the female wasp cannot lay eggs in female figs because the style of the flower is too long. It really seems impossible unless you got cuttings of male trees that had figs on them.
Pollination really does improve some varieties, they become larger, the interiors darken and get more syrupy and the seeds taste better. They also ripen faster, but other varieties don’t seem to change much at all, aside from maybe ripening faster.
I’ll put some sticky traps and see if I can identify any.
Not to mention the i-358 from prusch that I selected after taste testing at the park last season. I digress…
