loosestrife sawfly
(Monostegia abdominalis)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
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Description |
Loosestrife sawfly is an exotic, small, common sawfly. It is native to Europe. It was first collected in North America in Massachusetts in 1899. The exact method of its introduction to North America is unknown, but it may have been associated with the trade of Lysimachia cultivars. In the United States, it now occurs from Maine to Pennsylvania, west to Minnesota and Illinois, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to Georgia. It also occurs in southern Canada from Nova Scotia to Ontario. Loosestrife sawfly adults are found wherever its host plants occur, including in gardens. The larvae feed on the foliage of various loosestrife species (Lysimachia spp.). Adults are small. The head is mostly black. The upper lip (labrum) and the plate on the face above it (clypeus) are yellowish orange. The thorax is mostly black. The plate covering the first segment of the thorax (pronotum) is yellowish orange. The plate on the side of the second segment (mesopleuron) is sometimes tinged with orange. The abdomen is orangish yellow. The legs are orangish yellow. The first leg segment (coxa) is sometimes dark at the base. The wings are lightly tinted brown. The opaque cell (stigma) on the leading edge (costal margin) is dark. The veins are dark except near the base. |
Size |
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Similar Species |
Habitat |
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Biology |
Season |
Two or more generations per year: May to September |
Behavior |
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Life Cycle |
This species was previously thought to be entirely parthenogenetic, meaning that females reproduced asexually. It was believed that no males were ever produced. In 1982 an adult male sawfly was captured in Norfolk, England. It was not until 2017 that it was positively identified as Monostegia abdominalis. |
Larva Food |
Foliage of various loosestrife species (Lysimachia spp.) |
Adult Food |
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Distribution |
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Sources |
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| 12/24/2024 | ||
Occurrence |
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Taxonomy |
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Order |
Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies) |
Suborder |
Symphyta (sawflies, horntails, and wood wasps) |
Superfamily |
Tenthredinoidea (typical sawflies) |
Family |
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Subfamily |
Allantinae |
Tribe |
Empriini |
Genus |
Monostegia |
Subordinate Taxa |
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Synonyms |
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Empria abdominalis var. rufinotis Eriocampa luteola Monostegia luteola Monostegia martini Monostegia nearctica Nematinus abdominalis Poecilosoma luteolum Tenthredo abdominalis Tenthredo luteola |
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Common Names |
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loosestrife sawfly |
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Glossary
Clypeus
On insects, a hardened plate on the face above the upper lip (labrum).
Costal margin
The leading edge of the forewing of insects.
Coxa
The first segment of the leg of an insect, attaching the leg to the body, and connected to the trochanter. Plural: coxae.
Labrum
The upper part of the mouth, sometimes considered the lower part of the face, corresponding to the upper lip, on an insect or crustacean.
Pronotum
The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.
Stigma
In plants, the portion of the female part of the flower that is receptive to pollen. In Lepidoptera, an area of specialized scent scales on the forewing of some skippers, hairstreaks, and moths. In other insects, a thickened, dark, or opaque cell on the leading edge of the wing.
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Alfredo Colon |
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Monostegia abdominalis |
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Monostegia abdominalis |
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About
Monostegia abdominalis |
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Monostegia abdominalis larve |
About
Sep 20, 2021 |
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Alfredo Colon |
Location: Woodbury, MN |
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Created: 12/24/2024 Last Updated: © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved. |