Ficus (Moraceae) and fig wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) in Taiwan

Abstract

Although Ficus-associated wasp fauna have been extensively researched in Australasia, information on these fauna in Taiwan is not well accessible to scientists worldwide. In this study, we compiled records on the Ficus flora of Taiwan and its associated wasp fauna. Initial agronomic research reports on Ficus were published in Japanese in 1917, followed by reports on applied biochemistry, taxonomy, and phenology in Chinese. On the basis of the phenological knowledge of 15 species of the Ficus flora of Taiwan, recent research has examined the pollinating and nonpollinating agaonid and chalcid wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). Updating records according to the current nomenclature revealed that there are 30 taxa (27 species) of native or naturalized Ficus with an unusually high proportion of dioecious species (78%). Four species were observed to exhibit mutualism with more than one pollinating wasp species, and 18 of the 27 Ficus species were reported with nonpollinating wasp species. The number of nonpollinating wasp species associated with specific Ficus species ranges from zero (F. pumila) to 24 (F. microcarpa). Approximately half of the Taiwanese fig tree species have been studied with basic information on phenology and biology described in peer-reviewed journals or theses. This review provides a solid basis for future in-depth comparative studies. This summary of knowledge will encourage and facilitate continuing research on the pollination dynamics of Ficus and the associated insect fauna in Taiwan.

Keywords: Chalcidoidea; Ficus; Fig wasp; Nomenclature; Taiwan.

Figure 1

Taiwanese publications on fig and fig wasps since 1979. Each Taiwanese article has been classified under a discipline in which the journal they have been published in. The categories are the ones used in the ISI Web of Knowledge^SM. Nevertheless 18 of the 24 cited journals were not referenced by ISI Web of Knowledge^SM then they have been categorized according to the journal description. For the journals having more than one category, value has been divided in equal parts. For example, a journal categorized in Forestry and Ecology would have counted as 0.5 in the two categories for this graph.