Needless to say, Boof’s physiological reaction was not so agreeable, as he subtly foreshadows pictures of his haggard visage and swollen, pale lips post-fig endeavour. But what could’ve possibly caused this foul reaction? Of course, as every educated viewer knows, one must head to the very trustworthy and insightful TikTok comment section. 

“Look up how figs are made 😭😭 never again”, “40 wasp tombs no Bev” –WHAT could these comments possibly be insinuating? Finding out about the infamous wasp-fig mutualism leads many consumers to despair over their favourite purple-fleshed, sweet, jammy fruit. We all know that come spring, every flower needs its pollinator pair, and the unripe fig syconiums are no exception. Typically, pollinators help a plant produce through the spread of pollen–a plant’s powdery sperm cells. In return, they get the sweet reward of flower nectar.²³ However, the fig-wasp relationship is unique in that only highly specific Agaonidae wasps can reach their inverted, enclosed flowers, called syconia.⁴ The only way in is through the needle-thin ostiole opening, tailored specifically for the vegan, pollen-bearing female fig wasps.⁴ Like Cinderella’s stepsisters forcing on a shoe, several different female fig wasps snap off their own wings and antennae to squeeze their way through the ostiole. They pollinate some of the fig flowers and lay their eggs in the ovaries of others. The founderesses die in their inflorescent abode, and the eggs fend for themselves, while the fig seeds begin to mature.⁴ The male wasps hatch first, with the sole purpose of impregnating their unborn sisters, before chewing an exit hole out of the fig and perishing.⁵ When the pregnant female wasps hatch, they exit through the same tunnel and adventure to collect pollen, starting a new life cycle for both themselves and the figs.⁵ 

But how does this cycle explain Boof’s reaction to the fruit? Are the wasps poisoning him? When we eat a fig, we don’t typically see remains of Miss Mother Wasp, so she must’ve gone somewhere. The fig produces a proteolytic enzyme called ficain, among several others that help with seed development.⁴ Ficain digests the dead mother, converting her to vital proteins and nutrients for maturing seeds. This enzyme, along with latex found in the plant’s sap, can actually cause prickly, burning irritation.⁶

Following fertilization, the plant also releases other hormones and enzymes such as auxins and gibberellins, which stimulate greater sugar accumulation, increased flesh development, larger fruit sizes, and a softer texture.⁷ However, not all figs are even pollinated by wasps! Most fresh figs sold in grocery stores are parthenocarpic strains, which do not require pollination to produce the fruit.⁸ Farmers selectively breed these strains to avoid relying on fig wasps, allowing for easier cultivation, but in the process lose out on auxins and gibberellins while other hormones like ficain remain⁷. Farmers thus select for features which compensate for the lack of seed-produced hormones, allowing parthenocarpic figs in grocery stores to compete with their creepy-crawler counterparts.⁸⁹ So while the truth behind fig fertilization is complicated, the next time TikTok tells you to fear wasp-filled fruit, remember that the real danger might just be eating 40 of them in one sitting. 

FLORA PRO-TIP: Do not eat 40 figs without water in one sitting. But if you do, please send us pictures!

This question often arises when discussing zoonotic illnesses. While many animal species are vectors for dangerous illnesses, they also play essential roles in their native ecosystems. As a result, researchers are constantly developing solutions that allow for infectious disease control while keeping animals safe. One such solution was proposed by Li et al.¹⁰ in their article “Ecological vaccination: A strategy to prevent zoonotic spillover from bats”, which suggests utilizing mosquitoes and saline solution to deliver vaccines to bats.

Bats carry a variety of deadly diseases, including rabies, coronaviruses, and hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola and Marburg.¹⁰¹¹ They also have a high tolerance for infection, letting them host pathogens without developing symptoms themselves.¹² Combined, these factors make bats potent carriers of disease and a main target for vector control.

That’s where vaccines come in. Hypothetically, they can help prevent viral transmission without harming the animals themselves. But why mosquitoes instead of needles? Previous studies using injections have had limited success¹⁰, forcing researchers to look for novel vaccination strategies. Mosquitoes emerged as a potential candidate, as they frequently interact with bats, acting as both prey and parasite.¹³¹⁴ Li et al.¹⁰ created a live vaccine by inserting the rabies virus into the genome of a vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV); they then infected mosquitoes with the  modified strain and used them to vaccinate a group of greater tube-nosed bats. Four bats received the vaccine through the bite of an infected mosquito, while another group consumed the infected mosquitoes to access the vaccine.¹⁰ When exposed to a lethal dose of rabies virus, three of the four bats exposed via ingestion successfully defended against the illness.¹⁰ Presented with the same challenge, all four bats exposed via mosquito bite also survived.¹⁰

While these results are promising, mosquitoes aren’t practical in every environment, and releasing modified organisms into the wild always comes with risks. Therefore, Li et al.¹⁰ also tested a complementary method: saline traps. Bats are thought to seek out sources of sodium to supplement their regular diet, which is low in minerals.¹⁵ By adding the same modified VSV strain to saline solutions, Li et al.¹⁰ effectively produced an oral rabies vaccine that entices bats to consume it. The group of 4 bats vaccinated with this method all survived two lethal doses of rabies with very little weight loss, indicating that the saline vaccine had successfully conferred resistance to the infection.¹⁰

Overall, this study suggests that both mosquito-based and saline-based rabies vaccines can be effective in bats. However, it remains to be seen whether this vaccination strategy will be useful at a large scale. 

They were once estimated to number over ten thousand, but wetland destruction and human agricultural expansion caused a sharp decline in the bird’s population.¹⁸ Today, two new flocks have been established, and the total number of individuals sits at over 800.¹⁶¹⁷¹⁸ Despite this success, whooping cranes remain extremely vulnerable, and their conservation is just as important today as it was 80 years ago.

Crane conservation scientists across North America use many innovative techniques to aid in the survival of whooping cranes, including one that most people might find amusing: costume rearing.¹⁶¹⁷ In the wild, chicks will imprint on their parents, meaning that they quickly form an extremely close bond with them.¹⁶ Captive crane chicks, however, are raised almost entirely by humans– but becoming too comfortable with human presence may be fatal in the wild. Caretakers will don full-body white suits and puppet a crane head using their arm, mimicking the behaviour of adult cranes.¹⁶¹⁷ The costume obscures the caretakers’ human traits, ensuring that young chicks imprint on the correct species and allowing the chicks to be reared without compromising their future safety.¹⁶

These suits don’t just have utility in chick-rearing! Scientists are also able to utilize them in the field, where wearing the crane costumes makes it significantly easier for them to gather population data and attach tracking devices to wild cranes without disturbing them.¹⁶

Conservation is fundamentally a field of innovation. As the needs of the species on our planet evolve, scientists must change in parallel in order to preserve them.

Crane conservation resources for further reading: