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

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » "Symphyta" - Sawflies, Horntails, and Wood Wasps » Horntail Wasps (Siricidae)

Family Siricidae - Horntail Wasps

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Works Cited
Pigeon Horntail - Tremex columba - female Pigeon Horntail? - Tremex columba - female Horntail - Sirex areolatus Saw Fly? - Tremex columba Wasp - Eriotremex formosanus Sirex nigricornis? - Urocerus cressoni Sirex nigricornis? - Urocerus cressoni Horntail Wasp - Sirex - male
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 Siricidae (Horntail Wasps)
Other Common Names
Wood Wasps (more prominent outside of the US)
Horntails
Explanation of Names
Siricidae Billberg 1820
The common name refers to their abdominal spine
Numbers
2 subfamilies, with 28 spp. in 5 genera in our area and ~120 spp. in 10 genera worldwide(1)
Size
adults of the same species may vary from 1 to 5 cm
Identification
Both sexes have an abdominal projection (horn). Females also have an ovipositor in a sheath. Color is useful in identification.
Keys to spp. in (1)
FL fauna treated in (2)
Range
forests of the Northern Hemisphere south to Cuba, n. Central America, India, New Guinea, and N.Africa (2 spp. known from tropical Africa)(3)
Food
Wood (Tremicinae mostly on hardwoods; Siricinae, on conifers); larvae require a symbiotic fungus to digest wood(3)
Life Cycle
larvae develop 1‒3 years(3); males emerge first and disperse. Cerrena unicolor fungus stored in special abdominal pouches is deposited along with the eggs.(4)
Remarks
Some are serious pests and spread as larvae with lumber. The most important predators and parasitoids are the ichneumonid wasp Megarhyssa and some nematodes. Others include Ibalia.
Horntails do not sting: what looks like a sting is the ovipositor.
Females more abundant than males. Adults fly mostly in bright sunshine
Works Cited
1.Siricidae (Hymenoptera: Symphyta: Siricoidea) of the Western Hemisphere
Schiff, N.M., Goulet, H., Smith, D.R., Boudreault, C., Wilson, A.D., and Scheffler, B.E. 2012. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification No. 21: 305 pp.
2.The Siricidae (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of Florida
Leavengood J.M., Smith T.R. 2013. Insecta Mundi 0309:1-16.
3.Guide to the siricid woodwasps of North America
Schiff N.M., Valley S.A., LaBonte J.R., Smith D.R. 2006. USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team, Morgantown, WV. 101 pp.
4.Hidden Company that Trees Keep: Life from Treetops to Root Tips
James B. Nardi. 2023. Princeton University Press.
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, anitagould, Bbarnd, v belov, KenW, Marci Hess, PaleoJon, Arturo Santos
Last updated 3 August, 2024 - 6:42pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2025 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact