Virginity in haplodiploid populations: a study on fig wasps

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The fig wasps inhabiting the figs of Ficus hispidioides S. Moore in New Guinea were investigated. The galls formed by the pollinating agaonid were also inhabited by two other non‐pollinating species of wasp; a third non‐pollinating wasp caused the production of a different type of gall, and was itself parasitized by a fourth species. In all species, males were wingless and all matings occurred within the fig. It was estimated that 2% of the pollinating fig wasps left the fig unmated. The equivalent figures for three of the non‐pollinating wasps were 2%, 4% and 23%. The significance of oviposition by virgin females to the sex allocation strategy of mated females is discussed. The absence of fighting and male wing dimorphism were studied in the context of the predictions of their occurrence by Hamilton (1979).