Hybrids do not occur in figs and fruit not pollinated is often aborted. The fig likewise will fail to produce seed and propagate. Figs have evolved intricate entrances and chemical cues which select their specific pollinators. Blastophaga psenes is typical of the agaonids, the insect group showing the greatest host specificity.
Host specificity is common among many insects during all stages of their life cycles.
Often though, stages of the same insect are not specific to the same host or the same stage of one host. A larva may well derive its nourishment from the leaves of a plant and its adult stage survive on the nectar from the plant's flowers. This paper attempts to determine the insect group and designate a representative species whose complete life cycle is most dependent on one stage of a single host-i.e., the greatest host specificity. Methods Professors and colleagues were asked to nominate candidates and the Internet searched for pertinent information. Secondary literature on insect life cycles, parasitoids, and symbiosis were reviewed.