Family Argidae - Argid Sawflies

Classification · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Food · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Hairy U-forked antennae- Argid sawfly?? (Ventral view) - Schizocerella pilicornis - male

Schizocerella lineata - Schizocerella lineata - 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 Argidae (Argid Sawflies)

Numbers

59 species in the U.S. and Canada (1)

72 species (2)

Size

8-15mm (1)

Identification

Stout bodied, easily recognized by their characteristic antennae: three-segmented, the third segment very long; males of some species have the last antennal segment U-shaped or Y-shaped. Most argids are black or dark colored.

Range

Worldwide, most diverse in the tropics.

Food

The larvae feed mainly on foliage of various kinds of ferns, horsetails, gymnosperms and angiosperms, occasionally they feed on the pith of twigs or on catkins.

Print References

Arnett (1)

Borror and DeLong, page 648 (2)

Borror and White, p. 317, illustrate antennae of this and other sawflies. (3)

Baker, p. 437, describes several common eastern species, including their host associations (4)

Internet References

Insects of Cedar Creek

Wasp web

Key to Genera of Nearctic Argidae

Wikipedia

Works Cited

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

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

3.	A Field Guide to Insects By Richard E. White, Donald J. Borror, Roger Tory Peterson

4.	Eastern Forest Insects By Whiteford L. Baker

Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 27 June, 2004 - 6:33pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Beatriz Moisset
Last updated 1 February, 2010 - 3:23pm

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