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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) » Arge » pectoralis group (Arge pectoralis group) » Birch Sawfly (Arge pectoralis)

Species Arge pectoralis - Birch Sawfly

Classification · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Works Cited
Birch Sawfly - Arge pectoralis Birch Sawfly - Arge pectoralis Unknown Sawfly - Arge pectoralis - female Birch Sawfly Larva (Arge pectoralis) - Arge pectoralis Arge pectoralis - female Arge pectoralis birch sawfly larva - Arge pectoralis birch sawfly larva - Arge pectoralis
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)
Genus Arge
No Taxon (pectoralis group)
Species pectoralis (Birch Sawfly)
Explanation of Names
Arge pectoralis (Leach 1817)
Latin pectoralis means having a distinctive thorax
Size
♂ 7.5-9.5 mm, ♀ 9.0-11.5 mm(1); last instar larvae ~18 mm(2)
Identification
Adult is said to be blue-black with white markings on legs (Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station)
Range
Transcontinental in Canada and n. US south to NC-MS-KS-CO-WA(1)
Season
adults Jun-Jul, larvae Jul-Sep(2)
Food
Larvae feed on birch (Betula), also hazelnut (Corylus), alder (Alnus), and willow (Salix)(2)
Life Cycle
Female deposits eggs in slits cut in the margin of leaves. Overwinters as last-instar larva inside a cocoon spun on leaf litter.(2)
Remarks
the most commonly encountered argid(3)
Works Cited
1.The sawfly genus Arge (Hymenoptera: Argidae) in the Western Hemisphere
Smith D.R. 1989. Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 115: 83‒205.
2.Eastern Forest Insects
Whiteford L. Baker. 1972. U.S. Department of Agriculture · Forest Service.
3.Garden Insects of North America : The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs (Princeton Field Guides)
Whitney Cranshaw. 2004. Princeton University Press.
Contributed by Cotinis on 15 August, 2006 - 11:14am
Additional contributions by Chuck Entz, v belov
Last updated 19 May, 2013 - 6:00pm

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