Question

Explain co-evolution with reference to parasites and their hosts.

Answer 1

Co-evolution with reference to parasites and their hosts exists between the close specific tight relationship between a parasite and its host. For example, in the case of a fig tree and a wasp, the fig tree has a one to one relationship with the pollinator species of the wasp. A fig species can be pollinated only by its partner wasp species and no other species. The female wasp uses the fruit as the egg-laying site and the developing seeds within the fruit for nourishing its larvae. The wasp pollinates the fig inflorescence, while finding egg-laying sites, and in turn, the fig fruit offers the wasp developing seeds as food for the developing larvae.