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

Family Argidae - Argid Sawflies

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Food · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Sawfly - Schizocerella pilicornis - female

Elm Argid Sawfly Larvae - Arge scapularis

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 Argidae (Argid Sawflies)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

revised in(1)

Numbers

~78 spp. in 9 genera and 3 subfamilies in our area(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)

Size

3.8 - 14.0 mm(1)(5)(6)

Identification

Stout bodied, with distinctive antennae: three-segmented, the third segment very long; males of Sterictiphorinae have the last antennal segment furcate in a U- or Y-shaped(1)

North American argid larvae may be separated from other families of sawfly larvae by the following combination of characters: divergent lobe next to the tarsal claw of each thoracic leg (lobe reduced in Atomacera) • one-segmented antenna which may be flat, rounded, or peglike • abdominal segments 1 to 9 each with 3, sometimes 2, annulets • tarsal claw present on each thoracic leg or at least on meso- & metathoracic legs(7)

Overview of subtaxa

Key to subfamilies and genera in Smith (1969).(1)

Arginae - cells 2R1 of forewing and R1 of hindwing closed apically by vein R1; male with flagellum unbranched

Atomacerinae - cells 2R1 of forewing (often) and always R1 of hindwing open apically; forewing with intercostal vein present; male with flagellum unbranched

Sterictiphorinae -cells 2R1 of forewing (often) and always R1 of hindwing open apically; forewing lacking intercostal vein; male with flagellum branched

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

Descriptions & host associations of several common eastern species in (8)

Internet References

Taxon profile(9)

Works Cited

1.	Key to genera of Nearctic Argidae (Hymenoptera) with revisions of the genera Atomacera Say and Sterictiphora Billberg Smith D.R. 1969. Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 95: 439-457.

2.	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.

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

4.	Systematics of two feeding morphs of Schizocerella pilicornis (Hymenoptera: Argidae) and recognition of two species Hartsough C.D.B., Connor E.F., Smith D.R., Spicer G.S. 2007. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 100: 375-380.

5.	Nearctic sawflies of the genera Neoptilia Ashmead, Schizocerella Forsius, Aprosthema Konow, and Sphacophilus Provancher... Smith D.R. Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 97: 537-594.

6.	The sawfly genus Arge (Hymenoptera: Argidae) in the Western Hemisphere Smith D.R. 1989. Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 115: 83‒205.

7.	North American sawfly larvae of the family Argidae (Hymenoptera) Smith D.R. 1972. Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 98: 163-184.

8.	Eastern Forest Insects Whiteford L. Baker. 1972. U.S. Department of Agriculture · Forest Service.

9.	van Noort S. (2004-2015) WaspWeb: Wasps, bees and ants of Africa and Madagascar

Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 27 June, 2004 - 6:33pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Beatriz Moisset, Vox Sciurorum, John Schneider, v belov, PaleoJon, Arturo Santos
Last updated 23 December, 2024 - 4:09pm

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