ENY 3005 Family Identification

Hymenoptera: Symphyta: Diprionidae Pronunciation: dih-pree-ON-ni-dee Common name: conifer sawflies

Female of the redheaded pine sawfly, Neodiprion lecontei.

Identifying characteristics for the family Diprionidae include:

• Suborder Symphyta: base of abdomen broadly joined to thorax.
• Medium-sized sawflies, up to 12 mm in length.
• Antennae with 13 or more segments, serrate on females and pectinate or bipectinate on males.

• Larvae of the Diprionidae feed on the foliage of various conifers.
• About 91 species in 11 genera in the world; about 44 species in North America.

Larvae of the redheaded pine sawfly, Neodiprion lecontei.

References:

• Page 316 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field Guide to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
• Page 372 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects, 3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.
• Page 702 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. 875 p.
• Pages 29-38 in K. V. Krombein et al. 1979. Catalog of Hymenoptera in America north of Mexico. Washington : Smithsonian Institution Press. 3 volumes.
• Pages 579-583 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.

Links to other web sites

• Sawflies, Wood Wasps and Horntails -- Symphyta, Gordon's Insect World
• Sawfly - Introduction
• Sawfly-Links

Links to other Hymenoptera taxa: Symphyta, Cimbicidae, Diprionidae, Siricidae, Braconidae, Ichneumonidae, Chrysididae, Scoliidae, Mutillidae, Formicidae, Pompilidae, Vespidae, Sphecidae, Halictidae, Apidae.