An early gall-inducing parasitic wasp adversely affects the fitness of its host Ficus tree but not the pollinator.

The fig tree-fig pollinator mutualism is one of the most tightly knit symbiotic systems. The research on the ecology of non-pollinators which exploit the mutualism without providing services to the host is very limited and conclusions about the role they play in the maintenance of this mutualism are full of contradictions. The non-pollinating fig wasps species are highly diverse in their feeding habit and ecological function, which may result in different consequences on the mutualism.