Family Tenthredinidae - Common Sawflies

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

Hurricane Hill Hymenopteran - Tenthredo - female

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)

No Taxon (Sawflies, Horntails, and Wood Wasps)

Family Tenthredinidae (Common Sawflies)

Numbers

About 840 spp. (Borror et al.)

721 spp. (Arnett)

Size

Adults rarely over 20 mm.

Identification

Wasplike, often brightly colored, often found on flowers.

Larva eruciform. They usually coil the body (or the posterior end) over the edge of the leaf.

Food

Most of the larvae feed on foliage.

Life Cycle

Usually a single generation a year. Overwinters in the ground or in protected places as a pupa or cocoon.

Remarks

Some species are serious pests.

(1) (2)

1.	Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the Study of Insects By Norman F. Johnson, Charles A. Triplehorn

2.	American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico By Ross H. Arnett

Contributed by Tony DiTerlizzi on 18 March, 2005 - 9:52am
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, tom murray
Last updated 2 August, 2007 - 8:30am

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