Phylloecus xanthostoma - Meadowsweet Stem-sawfly

This species has a wider range than its closer relative Phylloecus linearis, with records north to Perthshire (Musgrove, 2022).. The face has a few punctures (absent in linearis), an insignificant interantennal furrow and a fourth antennal segment at most 0.66 times the length of the third.

Phylloecus xanthostoma larvae inhabit the stems of Meadowsweet.

Jump to other Cephidae

Size: 12 - 18mm.

GB IUCN Status: Least Concern
GB Rarity Status: None

Distribution: England, Scotland, Wales

Flight period: May to August

Plant associations: Filipendula ulmaria (Meadowsweet)

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. 2022. A review of the status of sawflies of Great Britain - Phase 1: families other than Tenthredinidae. Natural England, unpublished