EUURA ISCHNOCERA GROUP

Euura polita - Polished Leaf-galler

Phyllocolpa polita (Zaddach, 1883)
Nematus politus Zaddach, 1883
Nematus sieboldi Zaddach, 1884
Nematus sieboldii Zaddach, 1884
Pontania connata Enslin, 1915
Pontania leucapsis var. connata Enslin, 1915

Only recorded as British on the strength of a mention in Brischke (1884) that it occurred in Scotland, with no further evidence available. Although the foodplant is widespread and its occurrence here is very plausible, the evidence to date seems too weak to confirm as a British species. This is a central European species, only just reaching the far south of Scandinavia, and hence perhaps should be more specifically sought in England (Musgrove, 2024).

See Liston et al (2017) for determination.

Euura polita larvae feed on Purple Willow which is a widespread species.

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Size: Female: 2.8 - 4.0mm, male: 2.9 - 3.8mm

GB IUCN status: Data Deficient
GB rarity status: Unclear

Distribution: Scotland

Flight period: Uni- or bivoltine

Plant associations: Salix purpurea (Purple 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 Natural England, unpublished