EUURA VIMINALIS GROUP
Euura vesicator - Bisecting Purple Pea-galler
Nematus vesicator Bremi-Wolf, 1849
Eupontania vesicator (Bremi-Wolf, 1849)
Nematus helicinus Dahlbom in Brischke, 1850
Pontania vesicator (Bremi, 1849)
Benson described the range as being in northern England and Scotland. Compared to some galling species, there is a relatively high number of records, although very few in the most recent years. However, closer examination of the dataset shows that virtually no records specify an association with Salix purpurea, and many mention other willow species (or simply refer to an unidentified Salix sp.) It seems likely that this problem stems (at least in part) from Stubbs (1986) which assigned galls of vesicator to unspecified species of willows. This issue means that most other records where no foodplant is indicated also need to be treated as suspect. Since Benson (1958), only one record has been sourced where Salix purpurea was definitively noted, from London in 2012, as well as an adult identified in Worcestershire in 2002 (Musgrove, 2024).
See Liston et al (2017) for determination of adults. The host plant is widespread.
Euura vesicator larvae feed on Purple Willow. The gall is in contact with the midrib, projecting equally above and below the leaf-blade. The gall is glabrous and smooth with up to 4 galls per leaf.
Jump to other group viminalis species
Size: Female: 3.0 - 6.2mm, male: 3.6 - 5.6mm
GB IUCN status: Data Deficient
GB rarity status: Unclear
Distribution: England, Scotland, Ireland
Flight period: Bivoltine
Plant associations: Salix purpurea (Purple Willow)
The National Biodiversity Network records are shown on the map below. (See terms and conditions)
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- Euura vesicator gall (Hungarian specimen) Credit György Csóka
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