Zebra Sawfly
S1, Female, Thorax
Eucalypt Sawfly
Larvae, Group
Animals
Plants
Info
| Zebra Sawfly S1, Female, Thorax | | Eucalypt Sawfly Larvae, Group | | ||
Animals Plants Info |
 | Class: | Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) | ||||||||||||||
| Order: | Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera) | |||||||||||||||
| Family: | Sawfly (Sawfly: Pergidae) iNaturalist Observation | |||||||||||||||
| Species: | Zebra Sawfly (Pergagrapta bella)| This Photo: | 🔍S2, Female, ventral🔎 | Other name: | Spitfire | Thank you Dr Paul Whitington & James Peake (JimBobo) for identifying this species for us General Species Information: Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA), the Adelaide Hills and elsewhere ~18mm long female. Paul said "P. bella is really challenging because there are so many species that were later synonymised with it and they vary a lot in colour." We asked James how he differentiated females from males, he said "Abdomen shape and size. Chunky, cigar like." He highlighted there we photo's of males and females and not only are they different shape, but also the males don't have the white zebra stripes of the females. P. bella & P. turneri are VERY similar; Paul & James suggest they might be the same species. Paul copied Benson's 1939 description: "Colour yellowish-brown with the following parts creamy white: a spot each side of clypeus, inner orbits between antenna and eyes, outer orbits, antennal crests, flagellum of antenna, spot each side of postocellar area behind, hind margin of pronotum, hind angle of front lobe of mesonotum, ridge on lateral surface of side lobes of mesonotum, middle of scutellum, upper 2/3rds of mesopleura (can't be sure of this one as need a side view), upper margin of mesosternum, metapleura, trochanters and on the abdomen a patch on the ventral portion of each of terga 2-8; in the holotype the black is confined to the extreme apices of mandibles, the lower 1/4th of mesopleura (again need side view) with mesosternum, the base of the hind coxa and the middle of terga 2-4 (covered by wings so can't be sure of this last character); in the paratype the black is much more extensive, the following also being black: the front margin of the pronotum with prosternum, a vitta on each side of the mesonotal lobes, the epimeron of the mesopleurae (again need lateral view for this last bit), and the first 7 segments of the abdomen except for the above-mentioned creamy white patches on the ventral portions of the sterna. Wings yellow hyaline; subcosta, median and lateral veins black; stigma, costa and rest of venation yellow (dark brown to black here). Head above very flat, postocellar area behind almost on same level as temples each dide while in front where the area becomes much broader it is slightly convex; behind it is ill-defined. Thorax with mesonotum heavily punctured though on side lobes and scutellum there are considerable shining interspaces; mesopleura on upper 3/4 with large regular punctures, lower 1/4 with denser fine punctures (need side view); scutellum roundly convex without apparent medial transverse furrow. legs with hind tarsi equal to about 2/3rds length of hind tibia. wings with 3rd transverse cubital vein slightly oblique, not angle and directed almost towards apex of stigma."
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