EUURA PUNICEA GROUP

Euura amentorum - Catkin Willow Nematine

Nematus amentorum Förster, 1854
Pontopristia amentorum (Förster, 1854)
Nematus suavis Ruthe, 1859
Nematus laevigatus Zaddach, 1883
Pontopristia kamtchatica Malaise, 1931

Sparsely recorded in southern Britain, including just two recent records. Only once recorded in Scotland, but this observation (Benson 1959) from Inchnadamph in 1958 was noteworthy in that the species was reported as the commonest species there with hundreds of females and a few males, all of a dark northern type unlike the paler lowland form found in southern England. Although there are a number of closely related species in Scandinavia (Liston et al. 2023), it appears that all British specimens relate to amentorum (Musgrove, 2024).

A small species. The sawsheath is held upright and when viewed from behind is tridentate at the apex. Predominantly black with yellowish-white on the face below the antennae, the edge of the pronotum, tegulae, legs and more or less the underside of the abdomen. Males are undescribed.

Larvae feed on developing seeds in the female catkins of creeping and goat willows.

Size: 4 - 5mm

GB IUCN Status: Near threatened
GB Rarity Status: Nationally Rare

Distribution: England, Scotland

Flight period: April to May

Plant associations: Salix repens and Salix caprea (creeping willow and goat willow)

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., Vikberg, V., Mutanen, M., Nyman, T. and Prous, M., 2023. Palaearctic willow-catkin sawflies: a revision of the amentorum species group of Euura (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae). Zootaxa, 5323(3), pp.349-395.

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 Natural England, unpublished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.63-127