Euura ribesii
This is the commonest of the gooseberry sawflies. In both genders the eighth tergite has a prolongation in the middle of the hind margin that is rounded, whereas in the similar Euura leucotrocha it is truncate. In the female, the scutellum, the mesonotum and abdomen are almost entirely yellow. The clypeus is only incised to a depth less than half the total depth of the clypeus. The head is black with usually a yellow mark on the upper orbits. The tip of the sawsheath is weakly truncate, whereas it is rounded in Euura leucotrocha.
The male has the abdomen yellow above with a variable amount of black. On the penis valve, the pseudoceps is narrow and beak-like at the apex and the pseudoceps, valviceps and paravalva are devoid of any spines.
Euura ribesii larvae feed on currants, including redcurrant, gooseberry and mountain currant. Gooseberry and redcurrant are preferred as blackcurrant and mountain currant are believed to less palatable compounds. Eggs are lain in rows along a vein on the underside of a leaf. Large populations can defoliate plants.
Size: Female: 6.0 - 7.0mm, male: 6.0 - 7.0mm.
Status: Common
Distribution: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland
Flight period: Multivoltine, April to September
Plant associations: Ribes rubrum, Ribes uva-crispa and Ribes alpinum (redcurrant, gooseberry and mountain currant)
The National Biodiversity Network records are shown on the map below. (See terms and conditions)
- Euura ribesii male Credit Andrew Green
- Euura ribesii male Credit Andrew Green
- Euura ribesii male Credit Andrew Green
- Euura ribesii male Credit Andrew Green
- Euura ribesii male Credit Andrew Green
- Euura ribesii 8th tergite Credit Andrew Green
- Euura ribesii penis valve Credit Andrew Green
- Euura ribesii larva Credit John Grearson
- Euura ribesii larvae Credit John A Petyt
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Euura ribesii final instarCredit John A Petyt
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