http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread1063767/pg1
So how many of you like Figs? I only ever eat then at Christmas but i love a fig biscuit. Well it seems that the secret inside every fig is a decomposed dead wasp! It seems the fig needs the wasp to crawl inside to pollinate it but during the process the wasp loses it wings, gets stuck and dies!
www.express.co.uk...
media-1.web.britannica.com...
Maybe figs are off the menu for vegetarians now?
Figs are technically inverted flowers that store their pollen inside the fruits.
As the female wasp slides through the narrow passage in the fig, her wings are ripped off and while she is unsuccessful in laying her eggs, she successfully pollinates the female flower.
The now flightless female wasp dies inside the fig, where special enzymes break down her carcass into protein.
The fig basically digests the dead insect, making it part of the resulting ripened fruit.
The special relationship, which biologists call an "obligate mutualism", has taken place unchanged for the past 34 million years.
www.express.co.uk...
media-1.web.britannica.com...
Maybe figs are off the menu for vegetarians now?
Replies
Well at first I found out that this story was originally from a tabloid newspaper that circulated gossip stories, and thought it was made up kind of like I think it's the onion that circulates fanciful articles that play on people's gullibility. Then I googled 'fig wasp' and found this : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fig_wasp which says the same thing.
Nice research benjamin776 ..this confirms about figs ...funny enough not many people know about this
Ewwww no more figgy pudding at Xmas lol
SomeOne commented on the original article ...NO WONDER THEY TASTE SO NICE ...so it takes all sorts as some like the secret ingredient ..sure make your stomach Churn
I am not a big fan of Figs and have rarely eaten them but I never knew the hidden secret ingredient. I always thought they were healthy to eat. Now the big question is a lot of health food bars and biscuits contain Figs ..SO READ INGREDIENTS CAREFULLY.
Now I better inform the Hare Krishnas and my friend who is the owner of Ventra Vegan restaurant in Oxford Street, London
Maybe this will encourage the survivalist, Bear Grills, to eat more figs...??? LOL
Wow I never would have guessed....I love figs, but of course, eat them in moderation....Maybe I'll be a little more tentative about them now....Wasps...??? errrrr....!! ;-)
Wow! Never knew that! How bizarre!