The life of the fig wasp is nature at its worst—from our human perspective, anyway. In order to lay their eggs, female fig wasps have to squeeze into the flowering body of a fig, losing their wings and antennae along the way. It's all downhill from there. Would you like your own fig wasp pin? Find yours here: https://complexly.store/products/bizarre-beasts-pin-fig-wasp Subscribe to the pin club here: https://complexly.store/products/bizarre-beasts-pin-subscription This month's pin is designed by Lauren Norby. You can find out more about him and his work here: https://www.instagram.com/laurennorby/?hl=en You can cancel any time by emailing hello@dftba.com Host: Sarah Suta (she/her) Follow us on socials: Twitter: https://twitter.com/bizarrebeasts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bizarrebeastsshow/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BizarreBeastsShow/ #BizarreBeasts #figs #wasps #figwasp ----- Sources: https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/3001375 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100615191649.htm https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(05)01466-1 https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/fig_wasp.shtml https://docslib.org/doc/8930073/2001-fig-eating-by-vertebrates-frugivores-a-global-review https://docslib.org/doc/8930073/2001-fig-eating-by-vertebrates-frugivores-a-global-review https://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/life-and-death-fig-wasp https://askabiologist.asu.edu/fig-wasps-pollen https://askabiologist.asu.edu/figs-without-wasps https://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/figs-food-webs https://docslib.org/doc/8930073/2001-fig-eating-by-vertebrates-frugivores-a-global-review https://docslib.org/doc/5404145/how-fig-trees-are-pollinated https://geo.cbs.umn.edu/Weiblen2002.pdf https://www.esa.org/esablog/2011/05/20/the-story-of-the-fig-and-its-wasp/ https://www.britannica.com/animal/fig-wasp https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3645034/ ------ Images: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qSxmoK4DVPtwGJ8wJOv3fLoX5BBrRFtXgDMDevefHfo/edit