Figwort wasp
| Figwort wasp | ||||||||||||
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Figwort sawfly |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Tenthredo scrophulariae | ||||||||||||
| Linnaeus , 1758 |
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The figwort wasp ( Tenthredo scrophulariae ) is a species of sawfly .
anatomy
The animals are 11 to 15 millimeters long and are black and yellow in color. The yellow-black abdomen curl is probably a mimicry of real wasps (Vespinae), which gives the animal protection against predators.
The head is colored black and is quite short with prominent, rectangular rear corners. The whale of the antennae is not narrowed towards the tip, it is quite short compared to many related species (less than twice as long as the head width). It is orange in color (in most similar species in the genus it is black).
The front pair of legs is almost entirely yellow. Only the back of the thighs ( femur ) is black. The middle and rear pair of legs are orange, with the thighs of the rear pair of legs being completely black. The color of the thighs varies in the middle pair of legs. There are individuals with completely black thighs as well as those with only the back of the thighs black. The long orange hind legs hang down in flight and give the insect a characteristic flight pattern . The leading edge of the forewings including the veins and the wing mark is intense orange-red, the rest of the wing membrane is slightly yellowish, gray towards the tip, tinted. The wings are almost always carried spread apart from the body, even when at rest.
The thorax is predominantly black, only the pronotum and scutellum are yellow.
The larvae of the figwort wasp up to 30 millimeters long are very similar to caterpillars . They have a dark head and a white body with black spots.
Ecology and way of life
The larvae of this species feed primarily on members of the genus Scrophularia ( figwort ), of which it is one of the most important phytophages. They are also found on Verbascum nigrum ( black mullein ), although it only accepts the older, slightly hairy leaves. There is also evidence of buddleia larvae are active from July to October, they overwinter. Imaginal wasps fly in the summer (June to August) of the following year. The fully grown animals are often found on umbellate flowers .
The larva is parasitized by the parasitic wasp species Mesoleptidea prosoleuca and Euceros serricornis .
distribution
The species lives all over Europe and in the north of Asia Minor, to the east as far as the Caucasus. It is common and common in Germany.
literature
- RR Benson: Hymenoptera 2nd Symphyta, Section b. Handbook for the identification of British insects Vol. VI Part 2b. Published by the Royal Entomological Society of London, 1952.
- Hubert Pschorn-Walcher, Ewald Altenhofer: Long-standing larval collections and breeding of plant wasps (Hymenoptera, Symphyta) in Central Europe. In: Linz biological contributions. 32nd year, issue 1, Linz 2000, pp. 273–327 ( PDF on ZOBODAT ).
- Andreas Taeger, Ewald Altenhofer, Stephan M. Blank, Ewald Jansen, Manfred Kraus, Hubert Pschorn-Walcher, Carsten Ritzau (1998): Comments on the biology, distribution and endangerment of the plant wasps in Germany (Hymenoptera, Symphyta). In: Andreas Taeger, Stephan M. Blank (eds.): Plant wasps in Germany (Hymenoptera, Symphyta). Annotated inventory. Goecke & Evers Verlag, Keltern 1998.
Web links
- Tenthredo scrophulariae in Fauna Europaea
- Figwort sawfly on Nature spot
Individual evidence
- ↑ Peter A. Hambäck, Johan P. Dahlgren, Petter Andersson, Sonja G. Rabas, Riccardo Bommarco, Johan Ehrlén (2011): Plant Trait-Mediated Interactions between Early and Late Herbivores on Common Figwort (Scrophularia nodosa) and Effects on Plant Seed Set. Ecoscience 18 (4): 375-381.
- ^ AD Liston (2010): New hostplant records for European sawflies (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae). Entomologist's Monthly Magazine Vol. 146 No. 1754: 189-193.
- ↑ Martin Räther (1989): Notes on four weevils in the tribe Cionini (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) associated with Scrophularia nodosa L. (Scrophulariaceae). Bonn Zoological Contributions $ 0 (2): 109-121.
- ↑ Önder Calmasur, Hikmet Özbek (2004): A Contribution to the Knowledge of the Tenthredinidae (Symphyta, Hymenoptera) Fauna of Turkey. Part I: The Subfamily Tenthredininae. Turkish Journal of Zoology 28: 37-54.