EUURA DOLICHURA GROUP

Euura nigricantis - Swarthy Leaf-galler

Pontania nigricantis Kopelke, 1986

Most confirmed records from Scotland and northern England. This species was considered part of Pontania dolichura by Benson (1958) but, following the major review by Liston et al. (2017), Euura nigricantis is considered to gall only Salix myrsinifolia. All records have the foodplant stated with the exception of a 1928 record from Wicken Fen. Whilst a long way from the core northern range, there is a small outpost of the foodplant still extant around the southern fens, from where both Salix lapponum and S. phylicifolia are completely absent, and hence this record is assumed to be correct. It would be interesting to investigate whether the species is still extant in the fens (Musgrove, 2024).

See Liston et al (2017) for determination of adults. The host plant is an upland species. Within this group, males of Euura femoralis and Euura nigricantis are inseparable.

Euura nigricantis larvae feed on Dark-leaved Willow causing an elongated gall, often paired, on the upper side of a leaf.

Jump to other group dolichura species

Size: Female: 2.6 - 3.7mm, male: 2.9 - 3.8mm

GB IUCN status: Vulnerable
GB rarity status: Nationally Scarce

Distribution: England, Scotland

Flight period: Univoltine

Plant associations: Salix myrsinifolia (Dark-leaved 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.D., Heibo, E., Prous, M., Vårdal, H., Nyman, T. and Vikberg, V., 2017. North European gall-inducing Euura sawflies (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae, Nematinae). Zootaxa, 4302(1), pp.1-115.

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 Natural England, unpublished