Absurd Creature of the Week: The Wasp With a Metal-Reinforced Needle on Its Behind

A wasp lays her eggs in a fig—and uncomfortable images in your subconscious. Corbis

Few trees in recorded history have been as useful as the fig. Its leaves covered Adam and Eve’s naughty bits, for example, and the Buddha supposedly found enlightenment under one. But in India, the cluster fig tree is responsible for something far more fascinating than spiritual journeys and what must be wildly uncomfortable undies. Read more.