| a chalcid wasp, Blastophaga psenes, introduced into the U.S. from Europe, that pollinates figs, usually of the Smyrna variety. |
| fig wasp n. A small wasp belonging to the family Agonidae, especially Blastophaga psenes, that breeds in the caprifig and is active in the pollination of fig trees and shrubs. |
fig wasp
any of about 900 species of tiny wasps responsible for pollinating the world's 900 species of figs (see Ficus). Each species of wasp pollinates only one species of fig, and each fig species has its own wasp species to pollinate it. This extraordinary diversity of coevolution between figs and wasps has become so profound that neither organism can exist without the other
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