Euura leucotrocha
Less common on gooseberries than the similar Euura ribesii. In both genders the prolongation of the hind margin of the eighth tergite is truncate. Colour is variable, but the female usually has the metanotum and at the very least the two basal tergites coloured black (often the entire upper surface). The head is black with usually the upper orbits marked with yellow. The sawsheath with basal plate is barely as long as the two basal sections of the hind tarsae combined. In lateral view the apex of the sawsheath is rounded, whereas it is truncate in Euura ribesii.
The male usually has the inner orbits mostly pale and the hind femora almost entirely pale. The mesopleura are black. The abdomen is at least partially pale underneath and almost entirely black above. The penis valve has spines on the pseudoceps and valviceps which are not present on Euura ribesii.
Euura leucotrocha larvae feed on currants and especially gooseberry and redcurrant but are seldom common.
Size: Female: 6.0 - 7.0mm, male: 6.0mm.
Status: Widespread
Distribution: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland
Flight period: Univoltine, April to May
Plant associations: Ribes spp., especially Ribes uva-crispa (currants, especially gooseberry)
The National Biodiversity Network records are shown on the map below. (See terms and conditions)
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- Euura leucotrocha larva Credit John Grearson
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
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
Viitasaari, M. 1980: Revision of the Pteronidea ribesii (Scopoli) species group (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae). - Annales Entomologici Fennici, Helsinki 46(2): 25-38