Euura clitellata (formerly Pachynematus clitellatus)

A sawfly of meadows and grasslands. A variable species both in terms of lightness/darkness and in terms of morphology. The male is mostly a browny-black but usually with a paler orange-brown hypopygium. The male has a square to rectangular projection at the apex of the eighth tergite which is rounded or truncate at the end and, at most, minimally indented at the base of the projection. The projection may be pale or darkened centrally. The female is marked with orange-brown to a greater or lesser extent. Benson treated clitellatus and truncatus as seperate species, but these are now considered as one under clitellata. Euura kirbyi may also be a variant of clitellata. Further work on the group is needed.

Euura clitellata larvae feed on grasses, sedges and rushes.

Size: 6 - 7mm.

Status: Common

Distribution: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland

Flight period: May to September

Plant associations: Gramineae, Carex, Juncus (grasses, sedges, rushes)

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