Agaonidae
Agaonidae Temporal range: | |
---|---|
Blastophaga psenes | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Superfamily: | Chalcidoidea |
Family: | Agaonidae Walker, 1848 |
Subfamilies | |
Agaoninae |
The family Agaonidae is a group of pollinating and nonpollinating fig wasps. They spend their larval stage inside the fruits of figs. The pollinating wasps (Agaoninae, Kradibiinae, and Tetrapusiinae) are the mutualistic partners of the fig trees. The non-pollinating fig wasps are parasitoids. Extinct forms from the Eocene and Miocene are nearly identical to modern forms, suggesting that the niche has been stable over geologic time.
Prior to the final ripening of the fig, wingless males emerge from the galls they developed in. The males enter the galls of their winged sibling females and mate with them. Pollinating and non-pollinating wasps alike reproduce using fig inflorescences and developing in flower ovaries. Additionally, non-pollinating wasps can parasitize the larvae of primary galling wasps.