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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » "Symphyta" - Sawflies, Horntails, and Wood Wasps » Stem Sawflies (Cephidae)

Family Cephidae - Stem Sawflies

Classification · Numbers · Identification · Range · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Internet References · Works Cited

Ichneumonidae? - Cephus cinctus - female

Stem Sawfly 3 - Calameuta clavata - male

Rose Shoot Sawfly - Phylloecus trimaculatus - female

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)

No Taxon ("Symphyta" - Sawflies, Horntails, and Wood Wasps)

Family Cephidae (Stem Sawflies)

Numbers

16 spp. in 6 genera north of Mexico(1)(2)

Identification

Mesonotum not divided by a transverse groove between bases of fore wings. Protibia with 1 apical spur. Last tergum and last sternum of both sexes apically thin and without cylindrical projection. Pronotum in lateral view sloping forward at about 45°; pronotum in dorsal view with posterior margin weakly concave, with medial length over one-half lateral length. Fore wing with posterior-most vein (2A) straight, parallel to, and mostly close to posterior margin of wing. Pedicel much shorter than flagellomere 1. Metanotum without cenchrus.

Slender, laterally compressed. Elongated pronotum. Mostly black, some with light colored markings. Clubbed antennae.

keys to NA genera and CA spp. in(3)

Overview of Species

Cephini

1. Calameuta clavata

2. Calameuta middlekauffi

3. Cephus cinctus

—iNaturalist Specimen—

4. Cephus pygmaeus

5. Trachelus tabidus

Hartigiini

—BOLD Specimens—

6. Caenocephus aldrichi

—BOLD Specimens—

7. Phylloecus bicinctus

8. Phylloecus cowichanus

—Sawfly GenUS Specimens—

9. Phylloecus fasciatus

10. Phylloecus riesi

11. Phylloecus trimaculatus

—BOLD Specimens—

12. Janus abbreviatus

—BOLD Specimens—

13. Janus bimaculatus

14. Janus integer

—UGA Specimen—

15. Janus quercusae

—BOLD Specimens—

16. Janus rufiventris

Range

Transcontinental(4)

Food

On grasses (incl. grain crops) and shrubs (incl. berries, roses, willows)(5)

Life Cycle

The larvae bore in the stems(5)

Remarks

Some are serious pests, for instance the wheat stem sawfly

Internet References

Exploring California Insects

[urlhttps://www.zoology.ubc.ca/entomology/main/Hymenoptera/Cephidae/]Spencer Entomological Museum - Cephidae Gallery[/url]

Works Cited

1.	Nomina Insecta Nearctica Poole, Robert W. Nearctica.com, Inc.

2.	A New Western Nearctic species of Calameuta Konow (Hymenoptera : Cephidae) David R. Smith and Nathan M. Schiff. 2005. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 107: 864-868.

3.	The Cephid Stem Borers of California (Hymenoptera: Cephidae) Woodrow W. Middlekauff. 1969. Bulletin of the California Insect Survey, Volume 11, University of California Press.

4.	Catalog of Hymenoptera in America North of Mexico Karl V. Krombein, Paul D. Hurd, Jr., David R. Smith, and B. D. Burks. 1979. Smithsonian Institution Press.

5.	American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.

Contributed by Will Chatfield-Taylor on 6 June, 2007 - 7:44pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, kschnei, v belov, Harsi S. Parker, KenW, PaleoJon, Arturo Santos
Last updated 4 June, 2023 - 6:43pm

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