Dolerus bimaculatus

Benson (1952) considered this species very rare, with just three British sites known. It has since proved much more widespread and is known from much of mainland Britain, although with few records to date from Wales and south-west England (Musgrove, 2023).

The abdomen is girdled with red in both sexes and in females the tegulae are red (at least edged with red tint in males). The scutellum is very densely, irregularly and coarsely punctured all over with the coarsest much larger than those in the middle of the lateral lobes of the mesonotum.

Dolerus bimaculatus larvae feed on horsetails in wet habitats.

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GB IUCN Status: Least Concern
GB Rarity Status: None

Distribution: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland

Flight period: May to June

Plant associations: Equisitum sp. (horsetails - wet habitat species)

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. 2023. A review of the status of sawflies of Great Britain - Phase 2: The Athaliidae and the Tenthredinidae (excluding Nematinae). Natural England, unpublished