Cladius compressicornis - Compressed Knucklehorn

Tenthredo compressicornis Fabricius, 1804
Cladius pallipes Serville, 1823
Cladius (Priophorus) compressicornis (Fabricius, 1804)
Cladius (Priophorus) pallipes Serville, 1823 
Priophorus pallipes (Lepeletier, 1823) 
Tenthredo albipes Fallén, 1808


North to northern Scotland, seemingly common and widespread. (Musgrove, 2024). According to Prous et al, 2019, there is currently no reliable key or species treatment available for this genus and this species is inseparable from Cladius brullei. The description follows Benson.
In the adult, the head is dulled by fine surface sculpture or hair-warts. The wings are subhyaline and the abdomen black without a brown spot in the middle of the first tergite. The ridge that separates the median facial fovea between the antennae from the frontal basin above is more or less broken through.

The male antennae lacks any protrusions and antennal segment 3 is straight. The penis valves are asymmetrical.

Cladius compressicornis larvae feed on a wide range of shrubs and herbs of the rose family.

Jump to other Cladius species

Size: 5 - 8mm

GB IUCN Status: Least Concern
GB Rarity Status: None

Distribution: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland

Flight period: Bivoltine, May to September

Plant associations: Rosaceae including Craetagus spp., Fragaria spp., Laurus spp., Prunus spp., Pyrus spp. snd sorbus spp. (the rose family including thorns, strawberry, laurels, pear and rowans)

Parasitoid associations: 

The National Biodiversity Network records are shown on the map below. (See terms and conditions)

References:

Benson, R.B., 1952. Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects. Hymenoptera, Symphyta, Vol 6, Section 2(a-c), Royal Entomological Society, London

Liston A, Knight G, Sheppard D, Broad G, Livermore L (2014) Checklist of British and Irish Hymenoptera - Sawflies, ‘Symphyta’. Biodiversity Data Journal 2: e1168. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.2.e1168

Musgrove, A.J. 2024. A review of the status of sawflies of Great Britain - Phase 3: The Tenthredinidae (subfamily Nematinae). Natural England, unpublished

Prous, M., Liston, A., Kramp, K., Savina, H., Vårdal, H. and Taeger, A., 2019. The West Palaearctic genera of Nematinae (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae). ZooKeys, 875, p.63.