Given below are two statements: Statement I: Fig fruit is a non-vegetarian fruit as it has enclosed fig wasps in it. Statement II: Fig wasp and fig tree exhibit a mutual relationship, as the fig fruit provides the wasp a place to lay eggs and the fig gets pollinated by the fig wasp. In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below: (NEET 2025)

Solution & Explanation

Answer: (C) Both statement I and statement II are correct. Statement II is squarely supported by NCERT: fig and its partner wasp share a tight one-to-one mutualism — the wasp pollinates the fig inflorescence while using the fruit as an oviposition site and the developing seeds to nourish its larvae. Statement I (the fig is a 'non-vegetarian' fruit because it encloses fig wasps) follows from the same biology: the female wasp lays eggs inside the developing fig and dies within it, so the fruit contains animal matter — the accepted exam framing marks this correct. Both statements therefore stand → option C. (Note: Statement I's 'non-vegetarian' wording is colloquial, not NCERT phrasing, but is consistent with the fig–wasp life cycle described in NCERT.) NCERT: Ch 11, p.202, lines 14-23 — "In many species of fig trees, there is a tight one-to-one relationship with the pollinator species of wasp (Figure 11.4). It means that a given fig species can be pollinated only by its ‘partner’ wasp species and no other species. The female wasp uses the fruit not only as an oviposition (egg-laying) site but uses the developing seeds within the fruit for nourishing its larvae. The wasp pollinates the fig inflorescence while searching for suitable egg-laying sites."