Pine tree sawfly

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Pine tree sawfly
Acantholyda hieroglyphica 5383026.jpg

Pine tree sawfly ( Acantholyda hieroglyphica )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Hymenoptera (Hymenoptera)
Subordination : Plant Wasps (Symphyta)
Family : Sawfly wasps (Pamphiliidae)
Genre : Acantholyda
Type : Pine tree sawfly
Scientific name
Acantholyda hieroglyphica
( Christ , 1791)
larva
Larvae with web

The pine sawfly ( Acantholyda hieroglyphica ) is a plant wasp from the family of the spotted sawfly (Pamphiliidae).

features

The animals are 12 to 17 millimeters long. The head and thorax are colored black and have an unremarkable yellow markings. The abdomen is black at the first segment and at the end, otherwise red-yellow in color. There is a small, black triangle on the second segment. The wings are yellowish in color and have a wingspan of 22 to 30 millimeters.

Occurrence

The pine sawfly is common in Central and Northern Europe from Lapland to the Alps . The animals live on the edge of the forest and in young pine forests. They fly in June and July.

Way of life

Young Scots pines ( Pinus sylvestris ) are preferred predatory plants , which is why the species is counted among the forest pests. Compared to the similar common spruce sawfly ( Cephalcia abietis ), however, it causes much less damage.

development

The females lay their spindle-shaped eggs one at a time in the tips of young pine shoots. Mainly the main shoot is colonized. The greenish colored larvae spin around the tenderly fresh needles on the topmost whorl of the shoot and start feeding there. With increasing age, the larvae gradually migrate down the shoot in search of new food, with the spine tube enlarging. The web is covered with many pieces of excrement. When the larvae are fully grown in the course of August and retreat to the ground, these spine tubes have usually reached a length of six to eight centimeters. The larvae remain in the ground and pupate in the following spring.

literature

Web links

Commons : Acantholyda hieroglyphica  - album with pictures, videos and audio files