The intimate mutualism between fig wasps and figs has long captivated biologists, and new
phylogenies are now uncovering its evolutionary history. Fig-pollinating wasps evolved just …

Over the past decade a proliferation of research has enriched and dramatically altered our
understanding of the biology of figs, their pollinator wasps, and the myriad of other …

Theory predicts that mutualisms should be vulnerable to invasion by cheaters, yet
mutualistic interactions are both ancient and diverse. What prevents one partner from …

How cooperation originates and persists in diverse species, from bacteria to multicellular
organisms to human societies, is a major question in evolutionary biology. A large literature …

The interaction between Ficus (Moraceae) and their pollinating wasps (Chalcidoidea:
Agaonidae; more than 700 species‐specific couples) is one of the most specialized …

1. There are over 700 species of fig trees in the tropics and several thousand species of fig
wasps are associated with their syconia (inflorescences). These wasps comprise a …

Studies of the evolution of helping have traditionally used the explanatory frameworks of
reciprocity and altruism towards relatives, but recently there has been an increasing interest …

The higher order classification of both Agaonidae and Ficus reflects convergent adap-tation
and not monophyly. A remarkable match exists between the classification of Ficus and …

Host sanctions that reduce the relative fitness of uncooperative symbionts provide a
mechanism that can limit cheating and thus stabilise mutualisms over evolutionary …

The study of chalcid wasps that live within syconia of fig trees (Moraceae, Ficus), provides a
unique opportunity to investigate the evolution of specialized communities of insects. By …