Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Family Argidae - Argid Sawflies

Hibiscus Sawfly - Atomacera decepta Help I.D. Caterpillar - Arge coccinea Argid Sawfly - Arge Sawfly Larva and small wasp - Arge Sawfly - Arge humeralis Neoptilia malvacearum - Atomacera decepta Wasp on sunflower - Argid sawfly - Schizocerella pilicornis - male - female Sawfly - Arge
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.
Food
The larvae feed mainly on foliage of various kinds of trees or shrubs.
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
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