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Family Xiphydriidae - Xiphydriid Wood Wasps

Sawfly ID - Xiphydria - male Female Wood Wasp - Xiphydria mellipes - female Wasp - Xiphydria - male Xiphydria - Xiphydria maculata - female Wasp for ID - Xiphydria mellipes Wood Wasp (?) - Xiphydria Xiphydria tibialis? - Xiphydria tibialis - female strange horntail - Xiphydria maculata - female
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 Xiphydriidae (Xiphydriid Wood Wasps)
Other Common Names
Xiphydriid wood-boring sawflies
Numbers
9 spp. in a single genus in our area(1), ~90 spp. in 22 genera worldwide(2)
Size
12-20 mm
Identification
Similar to horntails but no horn at the tip of the abdomen
Food
The larvae bore in the dead or decaying wood of deciduous trees, particularly small branches(2)
Remarks
Not considered to be of economic importance as larvae neither attack living branches nor are they known to attack structural wood in homes. They may be seen indoors due to being brought in with firewood.(2)
Works Cited
1.Nomina Insecta Nearctica
Poole, Robert W. Nearctica.com, Inc.
2.The Xiphydriid Woodwasps of North America (Hymenoptera: Xiphydriidae)
David R. Smith . 1976. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, Vol. 102, No. 2, pp. 101-131 .