common sawfly

(Macrophya pulchella)

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

not listed

     
  NatureServe

not listed

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Macrophya pulchella is a black, small to medium-sized, common sawfly.

The female averages 5 16 (7.5 mm) in length. The head is black. The mouth parts are white. The antennae have 9 segments. They are thread-like, cylindrical, and entirely black.

The plate covering the thorax (pronotum) is black and with yellow markings. There is a yellow 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 squarish plate at the base of each wing (tegula) is yellow. The triangular plate between the wing bases (scutellum) is yellow. The yellow spot on the scutellum is not divided or notched.

The thorax and abdomen are broadly connected. The basal plate of the abdomen is always black. The first one or two abdominal segments are sometimes black. The sheaths on the ovipositor are partly or entirely black. The remainder of the abdomen is orangish-brown.

The front and middle legs are mostly yellow to pale yellow. The tip of the fourth segment (tibia) is sometimes black. The last five segments (tarsi) together correspond to the foot of the insect. They are pale yellow with a narrow black tip. The hind leg is mostly yellow with black at the base, of the first segment, on the outer (apical) half to two-thirds of the third segment (femur), and the base and the tip of the tibia. The tarsi are pale yellow to almost white, with the base of the first segment and the upper surface of the last segment brown. The fourth segment (tibia) of the front leg has two spurs at the tip.

The wings are clear and evenly tinged dark brown.

The male is slightly smaller, averaging ¼ (7 mm) in length. The antennae are slightly flattened. The scutellum is usually entirely black, sometimes partially black. The abdomen is entirely black. On the hind leg, the tibia is entirely black or it may have an indistinct pale yellow spot on the forward (ventral) edge, but never a yellow band around it. The male is otherwise similar to the female.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Male: ¼ (7 mm)

Female: 5 16 (7.5 mm)

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

 

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

 

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

 

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

 

 
     
 

Larva Food

 
 

 

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

24, 29, 30.

 
  11/29/2018      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

 

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies)  
 

Suborder

Symphyta (horntails, sawflies)  
 

Superfamily

Tenthredinoidea (sawflies)  
 

Family

Tenthredinidae (common sawflies)  
 

Subfamily

Tenthredininae  
  Tribe Macrophyini  
 

Genus

Macrophya  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

 

 
       
 

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.

 

Tegula

A small, hardened, plate, scale, or flap-like structure that overlaps the base of the forewing of insects in the orders Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Homoptera. Plural: tegulae.

 

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

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

common sawfly (Macrophya pulchella)  
           
 
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Created: 8/22/2019

Last Updated:

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