EUURA PUNICEA GROUP

Euura tunicata - Cloaked Willow Nematine

Nematus tunicatus Zaddach, 1883
Amauronematus sollemnis Konow, 1895
Amauronematus forsiusi Enslin, 1915
Amauronematus tunicatus (Zaddach, 1883)
Nematus laevis Brischke, 1883
Euura sollemnis (Konow, 1895)

A rare (or very unobtrusive) species of southern England, but still being detected in recent years (Musgrove, 2024).

A lowland species. In the female, the mesopleura are shining and scarcely punctured. The lower parts of the face and the pronotum are marked with white. The mesonotum and mesopleura are black. The abdomen is yellowish with only the basal tergites and sometimes the sternites marked with black. The femora are entirely pale. The sawsheath viewed from above is broadly rounded apically.

The male is not described in Britain and Ireland.

Euura tunicata larvae feed on Grey Willow and Eared Willow.

Size: Female: 6.5 - 7.5mm.

GB IUCN status: Near Threatened
GB rarity status: Nationally Rare

Distribution: England, Ireland

Flight period: March to April

Plant associations: Salix atrocinerea and Salix aurita (Grey Willow and Eared 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 Natural England, unpublished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