Pristiphora abbreviata - Pear Tree Sawyer
Species not placed in a group

Scattered records across southern England with an outlier in Cumbria. Another poorly recorded species on Pyrus (cf Hoplocampa brevis) (Musgrove, 2024).

This species is similar to Pristiphora monogyniae. This species has pale yellowish pronotal angles, a black clypeus and in the female a distinct dorso-apical projection to the sawsheath. Males are extremely rare and are best determined by examination of the penis valves.

Pristiphora abbreviata larvae feed on pear trees.

Jump to other species of Pristiphora

Size: 4.0 - 5.0mm

GB IUCN status: Near Threatened
GB rarity status: Nationally Rare

Distribution: England

Flight period: May to June

Plant associations: Pyrus communis (pear tree)

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 Natural England, unpublished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., Kramp, K., Vikberg, V. and Liston, A., 2017. North-Western Palaearctic species of Pristiphora (hymenoptera, tenthredinidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 59