Biodiv Sci ›› 2004, Vol. 12 ›› Issue (6): 611-617.  DOI: 10.17520/biods.2004076

Special Issue: 传粉生物学 昆虫多样性与生态功能

• Editorial • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Species composition and diversity of fig wasps and figs in Yunnan

YANG Da-Rong1, XU Lei1,2, PENG Yan-Qiong1,2, WEI Zuo-Dong1,2, DUAN Zhu-Biao1   

  1. 1 Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223
    2 Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100039
  • Received:2004-02-08 Revised:2004-09-11 Online:2004-11-20 Published:2004-11-20
  • Contact: YANG Da-Rong

Abstract: Hymenoptera of the family Agaonidae (fig wasps) are the obligate pollinating insects of fig trees (Ficus spp.), and fig syconium is the only host of fig wasp. For the pollination of their flowers, fig trees are dependent upon fig wasps. For their reproduction and growth, fig wasps are dependent upon the gall (ovaries) of the figs, in which their larvae develop. Thus, the two groups share a symbiotic relationship. Species diversity and richness of fig and fig wasp are highest in Yunnan among all the provinces of China. Our study shows that the fig wasps collected from Yunnan include 50 species of 12 genera, which are mainly distributed in the tropics and south sub-tropics below an altitude of 1600 m. Both figs and fig wasps decrease in species number with increasing altitude. Above an altitude of 3700 m, no natural fig tress were found, except for cultivated species. Species diversity increased in the following order: northwestern Yunnan (H′= 0.6902), northeastern Yunnan (H′= 0.6976), central Yunnan (H′= 0.9211), southeastern Yunnan (H′=1.2164), western Yunnan (H′=1.5017), and southern Yunnan (H′=1.6441).

CLC Number: