Figs Without Wasps?

Most commercial figs, like the ones you buy at the store, are grown without wasps.

While wasp bodies may add some crunch to a tasty fig, you probably won’t find a wasp inside a fig you are about to eat, even if you look really hard.

Some types of fig that are grown for human consumption have figs that ripen without pollination. It is also possible to trick plants into ripening figs without wasps by spraying them with plant hormones.

Even when figs are grown the old-fashioned way, with wasps, the wasp is long gone by the time the fig crosses your lips. Figs produce a chemical called “ficin” that breaks down the wasp bodies. Ficin is so effective at breaking down, or digesting, animal proteins that natives of Central America eat fig sap to treat intestinal worm infections.

So, no, those fig-filled cookies you bought at the store are not full of dead wasps. But don’t despair. If you’re really interested in eating insects, Ask-A-Biologist has some great suggestions.