How to be a fig wasp parasite on the fig–fig wasp mutualism

•The nursery pollination mutualism between figs and fig wasps is subject to parasitism.•Parasites can be gallers, kleptoparasites, seed predators or parasitoids.•Host exploitation depends on life history, sensory ecology, and oviposition ability.•Parasites exhibit delayed phylogenetic tracking of their hosts.•Parasites exhibit less host specificity than previously estimated.

The nursery pollination mutualism between figs and pollinating fig wasps is based on adaptations that allow wasps to enter the enclosed inflorescences of figs, to facilitate seed set, and to have offspring that develop within the nursery and that leave to enter other inflorescences for pollination. This closed mutualistic system is not immune to parasitic fig wasps. Although the life histories and basic biology of the mutualists have been investigated, the biology of the fig wasp parasites has been severely neglected. This review brings together current knowledge of the many different ways in which parasites can enter the system, and also points to the serious lacunae in our understanding of the intricate interactions between gallers, kleptoparasites, seed eaters and parasitoids within this mutualism.