Euura leucotrocha (Hartig, 1837)

EUURA RIBESII GROUP

Euura leucotrocha - Pale Gooseberry Nematine, Pale Gooseberry Sawfly

Nematus leucotrochus Hartig, 1837
Kontuniemiana leucotrocha (Hartig, 1837)
Nematus maculiventris Hartig, 1840
Nematus approximatus Förster, 1854
Nematus consobrinus Vollenhoven, 1871
Nematus umbrinus Zaddach, 1876
Nematus multiplex Zaddach, 1883
Nematus sauterianus Zaddach, 1883
Nematus consobrinus Zaddach, 1883
Pteronidea cognata Lindqvist, 1958

North to northern Scotland, recorded reasonably frequently (Musgrove, 2024).

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 tarsi 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.

GB IUCN status: Least Concern
GB rarity status: None

Distribution: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland

Flight period: Univoltine, April to May

Plant associations: Ribes spp., especially Ribes uva-crispa (currants, especially gooseberry)