Nematinus luteus - Yellow Alder-cutter

North to northern Scotland. Seemingly common and widespread, although assessment is clouded by unhelpful nomenclatural issues. Records assigned to 'luteus' may have been subject to confusion, as Benson's "Nematinus luteus" actually refers to the species we now know to be steini and it is his "willigkiae" that should be luteus (Musgrove, 2024).

A mostly yellow species. The venation basally, and the subcosta, is yellow and paler than the venation of the rest of the wing. The basal tergites lack any punctures but with dark marks near the central incision on tergite 1.

Nematinus luteus larvae feed singly on alders and occasionally hazel.

Jump to other species of Nematinus

Size: 6 - 8.5mm

GB IUCN status: Least Concern
GB rarity status: None

Distribution: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland

Flight period: June to July

Plant associations: Alnus spp. and rarely on Corylus avellana (alders and rarely hazel)

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 Natural England, unpublished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.

Taeger, A. and Blank, S.M., 1998. Beitrag zur Kenntnis einiger Nematinae (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). Pflanzenwespen Deutschlands (Hymenoptera, Symphyta). Kommentierte Bestandsaufnahme. Goecke & Evers, Keltern, pp.247-277.