common sawfly

(Macrophya epinota)

Conservation Status
common sawfly (Macrophya epinota)
Photo by Alfredo Colon
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

not listed

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Macrophya epinota is a black, small to medium-sized, common sawfly. Females average (10.2 mm) in length, much larger than males, which average 5 16 (7.5 mm) in length.

The female averages (10.2 mm) in length. The head is smooth, shiny, and black, with white mouthparts. There are two large compound eyes on the sides of the head and three small simple eyes (ocelli) on the top of the head. Behind the ocelli there are two white, narrowly triangular spots (postocellar spots) on each side of the head that sometimes join together. The antennae have 9 segments. They are thread-like, cylindrical, and entirely black.

The plate covering the thorax (pronotum) is black and shiny with white markings. There is a white stripe wrapping around the forward (dorsal) edge of each side of the pronotum. The forward (anterior) portion of the stripe is narrow, the lateral portion is narrow to wide. The triangular plate between the wing bases (scutellum) is partly white.

The thorax and abdomen are broadly connected. The abdomen is entirely black above, mostly black below with a broad, white, longitudinal stripe down the middle.

The third and largest leg segment (femur) on the front leg may be entirely white or white in front and black in back. On the middle leg it is always white in front and black in back. The fourth segment (tibia) of the front leg has two spurs at the tip. The tibia of the front and middle legs are white in front and black in back. The last five segments (tarsi) together correspond to the foot of the insect. The terminal segment is black. The remaining segments are white with a narrow black tip. The hind legs are black with white markings, including a narrow band at the tip of the femur, and a broad band in the middle of the tibia. The tarsi are colored similar to the front and middle legs.

The wings are clear and evenly tinged dark brown.

The male is much smaller, averaging 5 16 (7.5 mm) in length. On the head, the postocellar spots are separated, never joined. There is a narrow white stripe on the edge of the forward half of the side of the pronotum, and a narrowly separated pair of white spots on the scutellum. There is a pair of large white spots at the base of the abdomen. On the front leg, the femur is always white in front and black in back. The dark areas of the tarsi are brownish, not black. It is otherwise similar to the female.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Male: 5 16

Female:

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

 

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

 

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

 

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

 

 
     
 

Larva Food

 
 

elderberry (Sambucus)

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

24, 30.

 
  11/29/2018      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

 

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies)  
 

Suborder

Symphyta (sawflies, horntails, and wood wasps)  
 

Superfamily

Tenthredinoidea (typical sawflies)  
 

Family

Tenthredinidae (common sawflies)  
 

Subfamily

Tenthredininae  
  Tribe Macrophyini  
 

Genus

Macrophya  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Allantus epinotus

Macrophya epinotus

Tenthredo epinotus

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

No species in this genus that occurs in Minnesota has a common name, nor does the genus itself. The common name for the family Tenthredinidae is common sawflies, and it is applied here for convenience.

 
       

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Femur

On insects and arachnids, the third, largest, most robust segment of the leg, coming immediately before the tibia. On humans, the thigh bone.

 

Ocellus

Simple eye; an eye with a single lens. Plural: ocelli.

 

Pronotum

The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.

 

Scutellum

The exoskeletal plate covering the rearward (posterior) part of the middle segment of the thorax in some insects. In Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Homoptera, the dorsal, often triangular plate behind the pronotum and between the bases of the front wings. In Diptera, the exoskeletal plate between the abdomen and the thorax.

 

Tarsus

On insects, the last two to five subdivisions of the leg, attached to the tibia; the foot. On spiders, the last segment of the leg. Plural: tarsi.

 

Tibia

The fourth segment of an insect leg, after the femur and before the tarsus (foot).

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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Alfredo Colon

 
    common sawfly (Macrophya epinota)   common sawfly (Macrophya epinota)  
           
 
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  Alfredo Colon
6/8/2018

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

common sawfly (Macrophya epinota)  
           
 
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Created: 8/19/2019

Last Updated:

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