Love Eating Figs? You Might Also Be Eating Insects!

Figs (anjeer) are often used in Indian sweets – from barfi and halwa to ice cream and kulfi. All of us love the delicious crunch in figs but maybe that’s not just the seeds, maybe there’s another reason for that crunch! Shockingly, scientists say that at least one insect has died in every single fig we eat; but why are these dead insects in our figs and do they actually make it to our dining table?


Are There Really Dead Wasps In Figs?

“Female fig wasps lay their eggs within the fig and then die inside the flower”
The figs that we eat are actually dried up flowers but when they are still fresh on the plant, these fig flowers play host to an unusual tenant – fig wasps. Fig wasps look like bees and they even have stingers just like bees; and just like bees they help to pollinate plants so that they can reproduce.

Why Do Wasps Enter Figs?

“Figs and wasps have a symbiotic relationship, with both being essential to other’s survival: wasps help with pollination, while figs provide nesting grounds”

The fig wasp and the fig flower have a peculiar partnership – the wasp brings pollen to the immature fig flower so that it can ripen and turn into the figs we love to eat. In return, the fig flower gives the wasp a place to lay her eggs.

The fig flower does not look like a normal open flower but instead it resembles a pod. This pod has a tiny opening in it and the female fig wasp forces her way into it so that she can lay her eggs. The wasp also has pollen from the host fig sticking to her body and she deposits this pollen along with her eggs. Once she has laid her eggs, the fig wasp dies inside the fig flower.

Should You Worry About Eating Wasps?

“Enzymes in the fig digest the body of a dead wasp, but sometimes the entire body does not break down and small bits of the wasp’s exoskeleton remain”
When the female wasp dies inside the fig, ficin – which is an enzyme in the fig, breaks down the body of the wasp. Like any other natural process, it takes time for the enzyme to do its work. This is why sometimes, there are small bits of the wasp that are not completely broken down. Unfortunately, this means that you ARE eating insects each time you bite into a fig – well, bits of an insect at least!

So, yes the fact is that there are bits of dead insects in your figs but if it makes you feel better, they are extremely tiny bits indeed – and definitely not the reason for the fig’s crunchiness – that’s ALL from the seeds and nothing else. You might want to skip your anjeer kulfi for a while though, just until you get over your squeamishness!