EUURA PUNICEA GROUP

Euura munda - Adorned Willow Nematine

Amauronematus mundus Konow, 1895

North to southern Scotland. The reliance on Salix repens means this species will be somewhat local in many parts of the country; notably, several records (but not all) are from key sand dune localities (Oxwich, Tentsmuir, Newborough Warren, Ainsdale) (Musgrove, 2024).

The female has the front mesonotal lobe and the underside of the thorax frequently marked with black. The sawsheath is very thin and almost parallel-sided when viewed from above, but the apex is truncated. The cerci are relatively long so that the sawsheath exceeds the cerci by no more than half the length of the cerci.

Males are best determined by the shape of the penis valves. The scutellum is densely punctured all over and without a median furrow.

Euura munda larvae feed on creeping willow.

Size: Female: 7 - 9mm, males: 5.5 - 6.5mm.

GB IUCN status: Vulnerable
GB rarity status: Nationally Rare

Distribution: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland

Flight period: April to June

Plant associations: Salix repens (creeping 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, 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 Natural England, unpublished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