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Rapidly approaching Caprifig overlap (Mamme and Profichi)

https://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/caprifigs-in-march2014-6809832

Hope you do not mind if I show this past topic from a couple of years ago
In 'fig land' now, Caprifigs do show approximately what you see on that old post.
Soon the young Profichis shall be fully receptive and being visited by squadrons of fig wasps leaving the neighboring Mamme with a load of fresh eggs, to fill the Profichi's galls.

Francisco
Portugal
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Thank you for posting this Francisco... Very interesting and informative and provides great insight into how beautiful and in balance nature and natural forces are when everything is working properly... I wish we had the wasp in New York so I could watch and appreciate the dance of these natural forces first hand... Am wondering if the known populations of the wasp exists broadly or in small pockets along the Adriatic / Dalmatian coastline of Croatia...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tsparozi
Thank you for posting this Francisco... Very interesting and informative and provides great insight into how beautiful and in balance nature and natural forces are when everything is working properly... I wish we had the wasp in New York so I could watch and appreciate the dance of these natural forces first hand... Am wondering if the known populations of the wasp exists broadly or in small pockets along the Adriatic / Dalmatian coastline of Croatia...


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Thank you Tony.
Wasps and Caprifigs show up in the vicinity of orchards or individual trees grown assisted by pollination.
Birds and rodents  are believed the great propagators
On some areas you see quite high densities of Caprifig trees and the accompanying wasps
The environment has to be right and temperatures mild . Equivalence to zone 10/ish is ideal.
On some seasons there are few insects and this may well have to do with excessively high ambient temperatures in April/May, going beyond 32ºC ..Low winter temperatures are not a problem
So, wasp activity and their population densities change according to climate and caprifig fruit availability to shelter the insects
I believe that there are Caprifigs in Croatia but cannot tell you more specifics regarding regions with more or less abundance of wasps and/or Caprifigs

Francisco
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Thank you, Francisco.... Interestingly enough, there are a number of zone 10 equivalent areas on the Croatian coastline, mostly the island chain around Mali Losinj and Hvar as well as the area around Dubrovnik proper. That is not to suggest the presence of the Wasp in those areas but the temperatures / micro climates would seem to be able to support them...
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Lampo. After 3 years of reading your capri fig lectures. ..... i finally learned the process from wasp to viable seed. Thank you for giving us your time and writing your post in a way that we can learn from
It really is amazing how involved the wasp is .
I DO HAVE A QUESTION. ....???????
WHEN A FIG TREE DROPS ITS FRUIT BECAUSE IT NEEDS POLLENATION. HOW DOES A WASP GET IN THE EYE THAT IS NOT YET OPEN. FOR EXAMPLE THE SALTANI FIG OF MINE DROPS FRUIT WHEN THEY ARE ONLY VERY SMALL. HOW WOULD A WASP POLLENATE IT ? OR IS THIS FIG JUST NOT READY TO PRODUCE YET.

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Originally Posted by figpig_66
Lampo. After 3 years of reading your capri fig lectures. ..... i finally learned the process from wasp to viable seed. Thank you for giving us your time and writing your post in a way that we can learn from It really is amazing how involved the wasp is . I DO HAVE A QUESTION. ....??????? WHEN A FIG TREE DROPS ITS FRUIT BECAUSE IT NEEDS POLLENATION. HOW DOES A WASP GET IN THE EYE THAT IS NOT YET OPEN. FOR EXAMPLE THE SALTANI FIG OF MINE DROPS FRUIT WHEN THEY ARE ONLY VERY SMALL. HOW WOULD A WASP POLLENATE IT ? OR IS THIS FIG JUST NOT READY TO PRODUCE YET.


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Thank you Richie
Will try my best to respond.
Fig eyes  by pollination time are ALL closed. Nobody opens the fig ostioles for whatever reason
Wasps shall have to do it ! because they are geared for that - a strong pair of claws! and their firm determination to go IN.
Nature gives a hand to this process by making the area around the eye of a receptive fig a bit softer.

When figs start being receptive their diameter vary between 9 to 12 mm..
The wasp, (average 1.5mm) once IN , all covered with minute grains of pollen, easily in a such small cavity, distributes pollen over all those receptive fig flowers in search of a place to deposit its load of eggs

Hope this responds to your question

Note: Sultane figs here, are biferous (2 crop) and do not need pollination at all

Francisco
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tsparozi
Thank you for posting this Francisco... Very interesting and informative and provides great insight into how beautiful and in balance nature and natural forces are when everything is working properly... I wish we had the wasp in New York so I could watch and appreciate the dance of these natural forces first hand... Am wondering if the known populations of the wasp exists broadly or in small pockets along the Adriatic / Dalmatian coastline of Croatia...


They are widely distributed along the Adriatic Coastline....

I have heard they had penetrated until Pécs (South Hungary)
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