EUURA PUNICEA GROUP

Euura toeniata - Riband Willow Nematine

Nematus toeniatus Serville, 1823
Amauronematus toeniatus (Serville, 1823)
Amauronematus aemulus Konow, 1895
Amauronematus alpicola Konow, 1895

Most confirmed records are from southern England, except for one from Speyside. Benson (1958) considered this to be a very scarce species, and indeed there has not been a confirmed record for over 60 years. Intriguingly, however, the continuing presence of the species in Speyside was suggested by an eDNA project which in 2022 yielded a barcode with a 98% match to reference samples for this species. Given that analyses of the taxonomy of this group are still unpublished, it is unclear to what extent this represents 'proof' of the continued presence of this species in Britain (Musgrove, 2024).

A lowland species. In the female, the mesonotum and mesopleura are entirely black. The sawsheath viewed from above is not tapered and is not longer than the hind femora.

In the male, any coriacious sculpture on the head and thorax is at least partially obscured by punctures, irregular sculpture or is obsolete. The stigma and costa are black.

Euura toeniata larvae feed on Crack Willow and other smooth-leaved willows.

Size: Female: 7.0 - 9.0mm, male: 6.0 - 7.0mm.

GB IUCN status: Regionally Extinct
GB rarity status: Extinct

Distribution: England, Scotland

Flight period: April to May

Plant associations: Salix fragilis and other smooth-leaved Salix spp.(crack willow and other smooth-leaved willows)

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., Knight, G., Heibo, E., Bland, K.P., Barstad, T.E., Blank, S.M., Boevé, J.L., Fiedler, C., Grearson, K.J., Halstead, A. and Jacobs, H.J., 2012. On Scottish sawflies, with results of the 14th International Sawfly Workshop, in the southern Highlands, 2010 (Hymenoptera, Symphyta). Beiträge zur Entomologie= Contributions to Entomology, 62(1), pp.1-68.

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 Natural England, unpublished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

Schmidt, S., 1997. Amauronematus Konow, 1890-Ökologie und Taxonomie der nordeuropäischen Arten des fallax-Komplexes (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae). Beiträge zur Entomologie= Contributions to Entomology, 47(2), pp.227-326.