African fig wasp parasitoid communities

Abstract

Abstract What are fig trees and fig wasps? Fig trees are a group of approximately 850 species placed in the genus Ficus (Moraceae), and are characterized by their unique inflorescence-the fig. Around 105 Ficus species are found in Africa, where they range in size from small shrubs to huge rain forest emergents (Berg 1990; Berg and Wiebes 1992). The term ‘fig wasps’ is sometimes applied to all the hymenopterans that develop inside figs, but more often is restricted to certain chalcid wasps (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea), the taxonomic placement of which has changed considerably in recent years (Table 18.1). At present, the fig wasps previously placed in the families Agaonidae, Pteromalidae, and Torymidae are all considered to belong to a single family, the Agaonidae (Boucek 1988). All agaonid species are associated exclusively with fig trees.