Genus Caliroa

Globally, there are 71 species distributed across the palaearctic, nearctic and orient regions. In Britain they are represented by five species and in Ireland by three species (annulipes, cerasi and varipes).

The adults are small (4 to 6mm.) and short lived and are therefore infrequently recorded. They are black with pale on the legs. In the forewing the anal cell is complete and with an oblique cross vein and with vein M and vein 1m-cu converging strongly towards the stigma. The angle of anal vein 2A+3A lacks any projecting spur. The antennae are nine segmented and the pedicel is longer than it is broad. The last four segments combined are at most only slightly longer than the third segment, and the third segment itself is only slightly longer than the fourth. The clypeus is shallowly emarginate. The species lack a prepectus. The hindwing is variable in its venation with cells Rs and M being either present singly, both present or both absent. The anal cell can be either stalked or sessile. In the males all species except for cerasi have a peripheral vein.

The larvae are found on trees and shrubs and are distinctive through being slug-like and coated in mucus.

Species list:

Caliroa annulipes (Klug, 1816)

Caliroa cerasi (Linnaeus, 1758)

Caliroa cinxia (Klug, 1816)

Caliroa tremulae Chevin, 1974

Caliroa varipes (Klug, 1816)

References:

Benson, R.B., 1952. Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects. Hymenoptera, Symphyta, Vol 6, Section 2(a-c), Royal Entomological Society, London

Carl, K. P. 1972: On the Biology, Ecology and Population Dynamics of Caliroa cerasi (L.) (Hym., Tenthredinidae). - Zeitschrift für angewandte Entomologie, Berlin 71: 58-83

Friedl, A. 1935: Beitrag zur Morphologie von Caliroa annulipes Klg. - Konowia, Wien 14

Heidemaa, M. 1999: A new sawfly species Caliroa crypta sp. nov. from Northern Europe (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae). - Entomologica Fennica, Helsinki 10(3): 183-186

Lacourt, J. 1998: Description d'une nouvelle espèce de Caliroa Costa d'Algerie (Hym., Tenthredinidae). - Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France, Paris 103(4): 394-396

Lacourt, J. 2002: Révision des Caliroa Costa ouest-paléarctiques (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae). - Revue française d'Entomologie, (N. S.), Paris 24(3): 125-131; 32 figs

Liston, A. D. 1993: Caliroa tremulae Chevin in the British Isles and Central Europe (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). - The Entomologist, Dorking 112(1): 67-68

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

Miles, H. W. 1935: Biological studies of certain species of Caliroa Costa and Endelomyia Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Symphyta). - Annals of Applied Biology , Cambridge 22: 116-133

Okutani, T. 1965: The Japanese Sawflies of the Genus Caliroa, with Description of its Larval Character. - Japanese Journal of Applied Entomology and Zoology, Tokyo 9(1): 29-33

Schönrogge, K. 1991: Zur Biologie der Eichenblattwespen Caliroa cinxia und Caliroa annulipes und deren Larvalparasitoiden. - Journal of Applied Entomology, Hamburg, Berlin 111(4): 365-379

Shaw, P.W., Wallis, D.R., Alspach, P.A., Brewer, L.R. and Bus, V.G.M., 2004. Pear sawfly (Caliroa cerasi)(Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae) host preference and larval development on six Pyrus genotypes. New Zealand journal of crop and horticultural science, 32(3), pp.257-262.

Smith, D. R. 1971: Nearctic Sawflies. III. Heterarthrinae: Adults and larvae (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). - Technical Bulletin, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington 1420: 1-84

Viitasaari, M. 1981: The genus Caliroa (hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae) in Finland. - Notulae Entomologicae, Helsingfors 61: 197-200